Alex Snyder said:

You 100% miss the point. And I don't feel like explaining it to you because you are hell-bent on being a total asshole. Many of the other automotive communities have asked us why we haven't banned you yet - the ones who have given you the boot. You're making it awfully tempting with your other posts today.

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Oh no... I got the point and don't really care. I'm pretty damn sure my credentials still work on the other forums. Chances are you'll find nothing but the elderly and noobs pestering those waters and no one in between with very little practical knowledge indeed. I'm entitled to my opinion on Pasch, etc. You talk shit on him and then act like he's worthy. Give me a break dude.

Alexander Lau said:

You posted it, too damn easy... and that's optimistic - who the fuck is going to buy cars coming out of this thing when they're broke?

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You 100% miss the point. And I don't feel like explaining it to you because you are hell-bent on being a total asshole. Many of the other automotive communities have asked us why we haven't banned you yet - the ones who have given you the boot. You're making it awfully tempting with your other posts today.

Alex Snyder said:

You are dying for attention today, huh @Alexander Lau?

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Just bored, plus you posted it, too damn easy... and that's optimistic - who the fuck is going to buy cars coming out of this thing when they're broke?

*Back to being bored, yeah this site is definitely boring... meh, outta' here.

You are dying for attention today, huh @Alexander Lau?

Coronavirus Wrecked China's Car Sales, and America Is Probably Next
How the pandemic's supply chain disruptions and chilling effect on car buyers could spell trouble for U.S. auto sales.

Buyers Staying Home
It may not matter, though, if customers stay home. Individual outbreaks and precautionary measures like bans on large gatherings across the country will keep potential car buyers out of showrooms. Dealers in affected areas are already reporting lower foot traffic. Even areas not yet touched by the coronavirus are seeing smaller crowds at dealerships as people avoid public areas and practice social distancing.

More than just a fear of catching the virus, many people are likely to put off a major purchase over economic uncertainty. After all, a car is the second-most expensive purchase the average person makes in their life behind a house. While the economy hasn't crashed as of this writing, Wall Street has had several of its worst days on record in just the past week and the cancellation of major festivals and sporting events will have a noticeable economic impact. With a great deal of uncertainty over the state of the economy, consumers are likely to keep their money in savings until things get better, just as they did during the Great Recession. If people start losing their jobs or the country falls into a serious recession, it will only exacerbate the downturn in car sales.

What does Google want? They want relevant, real content on the internet that people want to read and tell other people about. If Google doesn’t bring you the most relevant content when you search, they aren’t doing their job. So by definition, even the word Search Engine Optimization (SEO) means to “game” the Google search engines (and others) to get your valuable content ranked higher than it would be if left alone to the forces of the Web. The bottom line is that all external SEO efforts are counterfeit other than: writing, designing, recording, or videoing real and relevant content that benefits those who search, within a quality user experience.

We can sit around and act like we're not trying to take advantage of Google's algorithm (would be a lie), but the fact of the matter, they change it up because SEO groups get VERY GOOD at manipulating it for organic ranking purposes. Google (I was just out there) is quite happy fiddling with their algorithm for "best practice" reasons, but in reality, they just want to convolute the ranking equation process in order to get you to BUY more of their PAID AD space. Now that the space (itself) has been limited, it's even more competitive.

BTW, don't get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with fundamental SEO work and choosing quality web platforms (Dealer Inspire, Dealer Fire, DealerOn, DealerX, fusionZone, etc.). However, let's not lie to ourselves about the manner in which many SEO groups attempt to get ahead of competitors through gray and dark gray hat SEO techniques outside of core fundamental work and quality platform provisions. I am not saying anyone here does that, BTW.

Sorry... I'd rather be honest.

I agree with everything you said. Logic is sound. But unfortunately it is based on the assumption that sales agents will actually take initiative to call their customers back without being prompted to do so. That won't just stand around all day doing nothing waiting on the point for another up.

If you have met these almost mythical agents please tell me where to find them. Indeed ads are not working.

Nice Information! Eric.
Voice Search is the most trending in the digital marketing field that helps Content Marketers in their marketing strategies.

Eric Miltsch said:

Thanks! I haven’t seen any dealerships yet. Looks like big retailers, media outlets and celebrities are just getting on-board recently though. I’m sure we’ll start seeing some salespeople joining though.

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I see salespeople using it, but few with structure. The best is yet to come.

Here are a few hashtags related to our industry & their current view count:

#dealershiplife - 5.4 M views
#cardealershiplife - 273 K views
#dealership - 4 M views
#carsales - 8.5 M views
#carsalesman - 4.8 M views

Could be worse right?!

Solid list @Eric Miltsch ! Here’s one:

“Dealers will be reluctant to dedicate resources to Google My Business, until ROI reporting improves, showing results from efforts.”

We can’t just show them how to do it, we have to show payoff!

#9 technology startups will begin to shake up the stagnant innovation of the last decade

Well said Bill!

Thought provoking and challenging piece @BillPlayford. Nice Job.

Once upon a time, not that long ago, I uncovered duplicate front page, about us, financial app, etc. content on about 500+ Automotive Digital Marketing Solutions | Dealer.com websites. No joke!

Here's your best friend: Copyscape Plagiarism Checker - Duplicate Content Detection Software (it's worth paying for their premium offering). Some SEO tools pull in their API.

craigh said:

In 2020, I would argue that almost all of SEO is simply best practices.
Google has become so good that the best way to succeed is to just play it smart - make content your visitors actually want to read and put it on your site.
If you want to make vehicle pages, put real content and unique images on them.

Website providers shouldn't be the ones doing SEO, but that doesn't mean they can't. We used to offer SEO packages that were quite effective (back when I felt that there were techniques that could genuinely move the needle in 90 days), but now we just audit the sites and provide suggestions to the client without it being an "SEO package". Their success is ultimately our success, so it would make no sense to help one succeed over another.

In my experience working with Automotive SEO vendors, 100% of them were either keyword stuffing, making useless blog content or stuffing backlinks to our site. We tracked everything in https://www.gshiftlabs.com and had to call them out on their seedy forum spam and offsite garbage that they didn't even tell the dealer they were doing.

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You and I discussed gShift (Canadian group) in length, I do believe. I used them for close to 7 years, exposing similar results. It was easy to do and pathetic on the part of what groups were promising and providing via "SEO." I still don't think anyone does it as well as them. @craigh

In 2020, I would argue that almost all of SEO is simply best practices.
Google has become so good that the best way to succeed is to just play it smart - make content your visitors actually want to read and put it on your site.
If you want to make vehicle pages, put real content and unique images on them.

Website providers shouldn't be the ones doing SEO, but that doesn't mean they can't. We used to offer SEO packages that were quite effective (back when I felt that there were techniques that could genuinely move the needle in 90 days), but now we just audit the sites and provide suggestions to the client without it being an "SEO package". Their success is ultimately our success, so it would make no sense to help one succeed over another.

In my experience working with Automotive SEO vendors, 100% of them were either keyword stuffing, making useless blog content or stuffing backlinks to our site. We tracked everything in https://www.gshiftlabs.com and had to call them out on their seedy forum spam and offsite garbage that they didn't even tell the dealer they were doing.

Steve Stauning said:

My advice to clients has never changed: NEVER BUY SEO FROM YOUR WEBSITE PROVIDER!!!

First, what did they tell you when they sold you your site? Was it something like "We provide the most search-friendly websites out of the box"??? Then, why are they now asking for $2,500 per month for their super-duper-premium SEO?

Second, you cannot serve multiple masters when it comes to real SEO. If your website provider is also providing SEO to 32 other sites in your market, how can they all be optimized for the important keywords?

Finally, the VAST MAJORITY of the premium "SEO" they do provide is absolute garbage (like the examples already provided on this string). Yes, MOST independent SEO companies also provide absolute garbage optimization, as well. The difference? I've still never seen good, honest, SEO from a website provider that was also cost-effective. I have seen this provided by a couple of independents.

Oh, and not every dealer even needs to pay for SEO. Google is pretty smart and most every dealer site built today is relatively search-friendly.

Queue the angry website companies to blast me here. (There's a reason they don't include me on their Christmas Gift Basket lists.) (BTW, I'm always happy to hop on a webinar with any website provider who wants to show me their premium SEO and why it's worth paying extra for.)

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Respectfully, I don't agree with the Never Buy SEO from Website Provider part.

Some can do targeted content that can help. The best are those who are including best practices as a part of their package while not selling SEO services on top of it. I believe it's the right way to do it, even if you seem to be leaving money on the table.

On the other hand, we could also say Never Buy SEO from SEO only providers because to this day, I think it's really hard to show a lift as strong as changing website providers from a sub-par to a high-end solution.

(msg me if you need names!)

Rather than creating a new thread I thought it best to try to jump in on this one for now.

Recently, our dealer group started a digital project group and decided to make it a permanent group who would help dealers with various avenues of the digital landscape.

One of the major points of focus right now is Google My Business. After reviewing ours, they recommended that I combine my GM and Toyota listings. Currently, I have three separate listings for GM sales, service, and parts and three for Toyota sales, service, and parts.

I made this change based on a recommendation by Pasch at a Toyota digital conference. I reached out to him via email to verify I was understanding his recommendation correctly. He was adamant that what I was doing was correct.

I am a fan of getting multiple perspectives before making decisions (especially when it's arguing with the parent group) and thought I would see what you guys thought.

Thanks in advance.

Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza (today), and Happy New Year. Now pass the egg nog.

Thanks for all you do for DR, Jeff & Alex! Merry Christmas & a very happy New Year too!

Your presence is your leverage, and let me elaborate on that a little more for you. We have the largest inventory in the are and often we'll have similar cars and they may have slightly different packages. Being that I know the inventory here better than anyone, not only will I find you the right car, but I'll also get it for you at the best price. Then sell your dealership!!!

Just giving out a price first without trying for an appointment is a recipe to get shopped. Of course as a last resort if I can't get the appointment, I'll give them an exact price, but not before I ask about the trade.

Believe it or not, but we track how many times customers ask, "What's the best price?" Currently it's less than 5% of customers who ask for the price over the phone. Most times is the sales rep who leads the customer to price.

You guys can chuckle all you want, but we have a handful of clients that set appointments as high as 90%. The clients who score on a scale of 4.5 or higher are setting appointments at 80% or better.

I'll take my skills to any dealership and we can have a little wager on who knows how to convert phone shoppers to appointments! Just make sure you bring 5K or more with you for our bet!

Jeff Kershner said:

"your presence is your leverage" - what do you mean @Alex Snyder ? This is my favorite line of all time!

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Sorry, Jeff. At one time "Your presence is your leverage" was effective. But now it's just a cliche. I stopped using it about 10 years ago after a customer flat out told me, and I quote, "You've got it wrong. My LACK of presence is my leverage." And he was right. If I'm a customer, and I contact 4 dealers, and all 4 of them use that same line, what use is it? Think of it like this: if you put a piece of tape on the back of your hand then pull it off, it's sticky. But if you do that 4 or 5 times, it's not sticky any anymore. The customer went online so they didn't have to go through what they perceive is a pushy experience and to put them right back in to that, and not differentiate yourself from the competition, you lose.

But we do have to have a replacement for that line. Every store I work with has online pricing and very few do not in this market. We have to be transparent. If you don't have online pricing, and your next dealer over does, you are at a disadvantage. So a customer asks, "What is your best price?", or something similar, try this line; "We gave you great pricing but we aren't unreasonable. If you have research showing you should pay less for this car, bring it in to my store and we WILL DO IT! Not a problem. We do your great price or you do ours. Either way, you win. No negotiation."

And we absolutely will do that researched price, as long as it's a legit source covering our specific market (Edmunds, KBB, a competitors Buyers Order, etc.), not a deal from CA in a NY market, or a blog, or your mother's cousins dog sitters best friend who claims to have purchased a $30k car for $12.5k. What almost always happens is that the customer brings their research and it's on a base vehicle meanwhile they are looking at a vehicle with leather and all the goodies. All you do is say that you will 100% honor the price they brought in, then add the difference in the equipment. Sign here, press hard, three copies. Move on.

I've used it for years and when done right is extraordinarily effective. One problem, however, is that experienced people weened on "Your presence is your leverage" almost always refuse to use anything else but that cliche, which is perfectly fine if they are performers but not for your regular rank and file. You would need to refrain from hiring any more experienced people, which is never a bad thing. A second problem is getting the sales floor to buy in, which shouldn't be an issue because you've removed the term "negotiate" from the vocabulary. The floor must be strong enough to present it the way I put forth. But if they do it right the gross goes up.

Anyways, this method does several things. First, it makes you stand out from the noise that is dealer competition. Second,, it puts some steel in to your pricing, and gives it credibility. By saying "your presence is your leverage" you are promising the customer a lower price through negotiation and your pricing credibility is shot. My way, I am asking the customer to prove to me that they should pay less and if they can there is no negotiation. As I mentioned earlier, "Mr. Customer, we will do your great price or you will do ours. Either way, you win". And, does it work on used cars? You bet it does, because you can always hit things like condition, miles, availability, Certification, and more.

john.quinn said:

This is IT, in my book.

Reality #1: EVERYONE buys cars. Dickheads included. And dickheads are the ones we talk about because they get under our skin... (BTW... "dickhead" is my wife's pet name for me... I use it here lovingly )

Sooo... the trick is to engage with more of the "Regular" peeps, right?

Reality #2: You can't establish rapport and convert unless you get them to Reply/Answer the Phone/Return a Voicemail. You get ONE shot -- your initial response. And to set the hook, you have exactly the amount of time it takes to see an email while stopped at a traffic light, before the light turns green. If the customer isn't interested in re-examining that email when they get to the next light, or at home, or at work, you're done.

According to Jon Berna and Driven Data, we fail about 95% of the time. Much -- and sometimes most -- of the time, we never even establish there's a human being attached to these BS ADF's that keep landing in our BS CRM... We never hear back from these leads. And blame the leads... Bad Leads.

It's crazy that the following statement requires a fundamental shift in Dealership Operational Ideology:

Make a great first impression, and you talk to more people. You talk to more people, you sell more cars. That's it. No rocket science. No mystery. No skullduggery.

But Reality #3: Just get 'em in. We're still here.

[@Tallcool1 --Clint, rant not aimed at you! Your post was a good excuse to unload some of this caffeine energy this morning!!! ]

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@john.quinn , I appreciate your rant, and want you to know that I have absolutely no problem if you WOULD have been aiming at me. If we want to improve and learn, we better be willing to take a little beating now and then! I appreciate your opinion here.

Just going to throw it out there because I can and I like being the dark cloud/negative/devil's advocate guy sometimes (all the time)

• I built an auto-responders that sent out triple net prices on new cars immediately after the customer clicked "Get Today's ePrice".........ZERO effect on closing rates
• I paid a company STUPID money ($1,000+) to send out even fancier, responsive, zip code based pricing, with 2 new and 2 used other option with prices listed, etc. etc. super duper emails.....din' do sh#t
• I turned all this off for 60 days and then counted all the eprice leads we sold. We sold more cars where we did not give a price than those that we did. AND....wait for it....we made more front on those deals

What does it all mean? It means that we need to train our sales agents on how to make a connection with the customer. Video, text, phone. The customers who only want a price - they are not buying.... IDC what anyone one says. they ain't buying Sh#t for at least 180 days, they are going to waste your time, and if you work in an import store with no VGP to hit - why take a looser deal if you dont have to?

There I said it...don't shoot me.

Tallcool1 said:

Where the challenge for me lies is establishing rapport... We (my store) need to get better at converting these invisible shoppers into buyers.

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This is IT, in my book.

Reality #1: EVERYONE buys cars. Dickheads included. And dickheads are the ones we talk about because they get under our skin... (BTW... "dickhead" is my wife's pet name for me... I use it here lovingly )

Sooo... the trick is to engage with more of the "Regular" peeps, right?

Reality #2: You can't establish rapport and convert unless you get them to Reply/Answer the Phone/Return a Voicemail. You get ONE shot -- your initial response. And to set the hook, you have exactly the amount of time it takes to see an email while stopped at a traffic light, before the light turns green. If the customer isn't interested in re-examining that email when they get to the next light, or at home, or at work, you're done.

According to Jon Berna and Driven Data, we fail about 95% of the time. Much -- and sometimes most -- of the time, we never even establish there's a human being attached to these BS ADF's that keep landing in our BS CRM... We never hear back from these leads. And blame the leads... Bad Leads.

It's crazy that the following statement requires a fundamental shift in Dealership Operational Ideology:

Make a great first impression, and you talk to more people. You talk to more people, you sell more cars. That's it. No rocket science. No mystery. No skullduggery.

But Reality #3: Just get 'em in. We're still here.

[@Tallcool1 --Clint, rant not aimed at you! Your post was a good excuse to unload some of this caffeine energy this morning!!! ]

"Your presence is your leverage"... I hate the line. Best customer response I ever heard to it was "you don't seem to understand. My LACK of presence is my leverage."