Amanda,
Saw your work, well done!  You write well, very personal. A
few thoughts from the outside looking in:

1. Experiment with simple white background pages, they are far easier to read and look more professional (like your writing skills!
   
2. Try to work into your blog, a managers special of the week. Have them hand pick a unit and write up a summary on what makes the vehicle special.  Most managers are "time chalenged" and need help with the writeup. Ask the manager which rep. would give the best "walk around" on the car (most knowledgeable).  Then put on your journalist hat and look for things like: What can you tell me about this car? Is it a one owner? Does it have some special options that make it special?  Is there any warranty left? 
   What is our warranty on this?  We've marked it down, what was the original price? etc...  ALSO, Be sure to mention cities in your area.
   
3. I build sites for a living, I am working on a new test marketing blog too, you may gets some ideas,  give it a look:
    The Used Car Queen
   
4. Love the personal touch you put on your employee reviews! Take an extra measure of caution when writing about female sales reps.  They go off on test drives and the Internet is the playground of strangers. Make it personal, but don't reveal where they live. I  know of one sales gal (my fiancee'!) and she was "taken for a ride", thankfully, with no harm done.
   
5. If you get any photos of deliveries with the rep and customer(s) shaking hands that's always good stuff. You'll need the customers permission. Speaking of photos...
   
6. You take some great photos, but your camera needs upgrading (or its lens cleaned. When I viewed the large photos, they were grainy. AND we all know the photos tell a 1000 words!

Just spreading a little DealerRefresh comradery about the place, like your efforts, Hope this helps!
Joe

This was the second AAISP conference that I have been able to attend. I am just now getting caught up from being gone for a week. I love these type of events because not only are they a refresher course, you can pick up tidbits of info that can make a big difference in your numbers. Since I had started a blog for my dealership in July (www.gmcity.blogspot.com), I was most interested in Mike Stewart's session about video blogging. I knew that I needed a blog, but didn't quite know what I was missing. The way he explained the steps and tools that you need made it look so simple. I had a chance to talk to him at his booth in the exhibition hall, and he gave me some great info. He also told me to get off of the free google blogspot OOPPs! It is all about building relationships with potential and previous customers. We all know that the internet will reach potential buyers way before traditional media, and this is just another way to make that happen.

You have to forgive Brian he was up late a few nights, I think he was referencing Dennis Rebalo on the bow tie. I sat next to Brian at that session and we were both impressed with his presentation. Mike Stewart was another speaker that was great to listen to, he spoke on blogging, podcasting, and online video. After seeing how easy it is to do I am hoping to have a blog up and running by the end of the month and have video on my website with in a couple of weeks.

The vendors were great, I don't know what the vendor count at the last two conferences were, but there seemed to be a lot more to choose from this time. I have to second Brian on Reach Local, a great group of people with good knowledge of SEM, it sounds like they are getting ready to release some really great stuff.

I have attended all three conferences and they just keep getting better and better, Mike Roscoe put together a great show. I can't wait to see what Orlando will bring on April 21-23(this is for the people that they didn't attend the last conference saying they didn't know about it, you know who you are)

I wasn't at AAISP - I was at the Exact Target Conference in Indianapolis. Talk about AMAZING information. The conference is all about email marketing the right message and getting it to your customers. Keynote speakers were Martha Rogers from Peppers and Rogers and Chip Heath, author of Made to Stick. The conference was comprised of 1 day of general sessions (split between the first and last day) and then one full day of breakout sessions divided into four tracks. I sat through the Marketing Strategy track and while I believe we do well compared to other automotive dealers when it comes to campaigning, I realized we are nowhere near companies like CareerBuilder.com, Home Depot, Ulta Cosmetics, etc. It was chock full of great tips, strategies and new companies that have never even sold into auto!

I am going to second Ashley on a JD Power DealerRefresh meetup - Jeff, you will be there won't you? We should do one of those cool "meetups" you see on commercials, where everyone texts each other and then meets in the center of the lobby with silly string. Ok, those are 17 year olds....we can meet in the lobby with Martinis! Sounds like a plan!

Thanks for the mention Brian. It was great putting faces with names and having enlightening conversations about the direction of the industry. I have to agree w/ most of Brian's points about the quality of the conference...

The overall message Shaun brought during his session was right on - make your website an extension of your brand and showroom, and treat your customers with respect.

Dennis was one of the first people I met at the conference and I immediately new he had a "different" approach than most people I have spoken to in the industry. Several points during his session were noteworthy; my favorite being how to manage yourself and your organization out of the chaos created from "change" through developing a vision and having the right leadership in place to reach that vision.

Overall a great experience and I'm glad we decided to sponsor. Will definitely be back at the next one in Orlando and look forward to staying in touch with everyone I met in Vegas....more to come tomorrow..

Okay... false alarm... Lexington, not Dayton. Other awesome sessions:

Shaun Raines (good friend): Change Your Mind to Change Your Results... The Internet has killed "What will it take for you to take this car home today"... the consumers you used to lure in to your showroom using traditional media so you could brow beat them in to buying... those days are over... the Internet is not going away... hold on to that nostalgic view of the past at your grave peril... "shadow in the valley of death" was the exact quote... would you do business with you?

Mike Stewart: Learning to do video and audio blogging... it is easy, quick and wow does it make your business come alive on the Internet... authenticity sells...

Dennis Colome... hadn't met him before... LOVE how he thinks... bow ties make you remember him... as ISM you have an interesting / unique / challenging RESPONSIBILITY to be the torch bearer of making sure that your dealership has success on the Internet - or at least learns how to listen. Waive that flag or close the doors. There are already dealerships closing their doors because traditional sales execution is NOT working... Have a /big 3 franchise... think you are going to survive a recession? The paring of the dealership ranks? What do you think is going to separate who survives and how doesn't? How do you make sure your dealer / GM, etc here the message? How bad does the pain have to get?

Thought having an Internet 101 (for newbies, not dummies) was a good idea - Cory Mosley.

This show is growing by 30-40% each time (only 6 months since the last one)... noticed more dealers and GM's at this one... but 500 attendees... 21,000 dealerships... still just a drop in the bucket.

And Vegas, well it is Vegas. You won't find any photos of my trip on Facebook.

Missed you Jeff. You should have been there.

Apparently having a shopping cart for cars (price, credit, interest rates, trade ins, F&I, monthly payments, etc.) isn't so "ahead of my time after all" now that Lithia has one at their new used car superstore (www.l2.com), AutoNation has one coming, etc. Maybe dealers don't need one, but expect to be competing with one soon.

I am at a 3 hour layover in Houston on the way home from the conference.

Shouts out to my new friends at Reach Local (SEM that makes sense) and HomeNet, just because Jesse (CEO) is Jesse.

I missed the sessions referenced above, but here were the sound bites I took away:

Jim Ziegler - "What to do when the crowd has moved on." Dealers are still spending their $$$ where consumers used to be... TV, radio, newspapers... get over it... figure out this new media called the Internet... it is not going away... learn to bring your brand and customers for life strategies over to the new media.

Ralph Paglia... shopping cart ecommerce (transactional websites) is here... sell cars online as part of your strategy, schedule service online, parts and accessories too... why not in auto

Have to jump... boarding... the blogging was pretty cool too, more tomorrow. Awesome session

So today is my first day back at work after Digital Dealer. We have a 3 hour time difference so forgive me if this doesn't make sense. First of all, hats off to Mike Roscoe and his crew. I am a charter member of the AAISP (whatever that means) and attended the first conference in Nashville 2 years ago. What a difference 2 years has made. This year was huge! There were over 500 dealers in attendance. Most vendors were represented in the exhibit hall and there were good networking and cocktail events. I was really pleasantly surprised. I had attended just to be a not so innocent bystander and didn't really have high expectaions for the event. They announced another upcoming event in Orlando in April. The best presenters were Dale Pollak from VAuto, Ken from Cobalt and Steve Stauning from Asbury. Some of the other presentations were too Internet Sales Circa 1998 and the questions asked from the audience really demonstrated how few of us really get it yet. I didn't learn much but it was a great opportunity to catch up with everyone, hang out and have some meaningful conversations. Who all is going to JD Power in a few weeks? Maybe we should have a lil DealerRefresh Meet N' Greet!!!!

@Joe -

Too funny...

I see the original author credit now at the end of the post...(honestly didn't see that way back in '07 on the original DR design)

Cheers to you.

Eric,

You posted that so late you forgot you gave all the creds to Jeff and not me (ahemm... the author ) I think Jeff (or Alex) went in to your reply this am and swapped out "Jeff" and added "Joe".

Eric, you're forgiven, Social Media workers have no clock, you're on call, 24/7.

@Jeff -

Posted my previous comment so late last night, didn't realize I left your name out @ the beginning & end...meant to include you with Joe' mention...

Thanks again man...

Joe - gotta hand it to you for this original post. Looking back at your original breakdown of our process & model, you really nailed the USP's.

What's really neat, from my perspective, is how none of those items you mentioned have changed. They all ring true to this day - we'd like to think that some of them have improved a bit.

The only real change is simply how many different places the story can be distributed today. Social media wasn't the headline of every blog post; SEO wasn't the secret sauce - I don't even think there was a Kool-aide available to drink yet...bottom line: something different, positive & unique can in fact work. Nobody thought we'd exist 90 days beyond the date of Jeff's original post.

Thanks again for the original post mention Joe; if nothing else, it created a great relationship - plenty of valuable lessons learned from it all.

DealerRefresh Strikes again! 2 Powerful "Retail Game Changers" I featured in this 2007 Blog post take 1st and 2nd place in Auto Dealer Monthly's "Top 50 Independent Retailers of 2010" 12,000 Used Cars sold!

WTG!

http://autodealermonthly.epubxpress.com/link/ADM/...

Differences of "The Game" at auctiondirectusa.com vs. carmax.
==On Site Auctions with open reserve prices. Offers to sell units accepted at $399 over reserve.
==In store Web shopping stations to shop competition (great closing tool IMO).

Give the video on the Auction Direct Front Page. a good review. They take control of the shopper! Upon arrival, BEFORE they look at a single vehicle, they offer up a killer "dog and pony" show of what and why they are so different. They follow that with a pre-purchace interview (can you say sales script?) to help box the customer in. To justify their "best price" position, they offer shopping stations to assist in closing.

Speaking from a position of decades of experience, that's a pretty damn intelligent, well coreographed dog and pony show. I am not awed, but I am impressed.

re: CityAuto.com
Chum in the water? Dear gosh EJ, CityAuto has to offer the most exciting and rewarding "old school" shopping experience on the planet.

Let's say you're a web shopper. You're after a Used Avalanche and you've landed on this 05 Avalanhe at CityAuto. I'll ask you a question EJ, as you shop around on the phone, you tell me who's going to gve you the best phone presentation, The OWNER at City Auto, or, the BitchCircle salesrep with 150 units in stock and whining about who's turn it is? Game, Set, Match.

Oh, it gets better!
We all know Sales reps "work a deal" and the buyers "work" the reps. It's easy to see the CityAuto.com shopping experience is a game changer, but in a wierd kind of way. I can see the buyers EASILY forming personal relationships with the owners (old school) PLUS I can see shrewd buyers working the owners against each other (more old school).

So, CityAuto is Web2.0.
Huh!??!! Well, kinda 2.0, but give me a second to explain. Web 2.0 defines a platform that's enhanced by it's participants. The platfom wont exist without its "Content providers". CityAuto's 48 owners kow their inventory intimately and can make a deal right there ad then. No back and forth, no used car manager to blame. It's real Old School content in a totally new way.

If ever there was a marketshare stealing machine better built than City Auto, I'd like to see it.

Joe

EJ,
I don't think I defined the term "Game Changer" very well. Let me try again.

The "game" describes the interaction between dealership and shopper, it's called buying a car. We all know this game is HATED by shoppers.

Savvy retailers are going to attempt to satisfy the shoppers and offer up a new game by trying to kill the old one.

And... You're right, CarMax is an example of a game changer!

Joe

I've only briefly looked at both auctiondirectusa.com and l2.com, but how are they different from Carmax? Lots of inventory, better pricing structure, buy trades... seems similar, or am I missing something?

Cityauto is interesting, but I would have to wonder about a customer feeling like chum in the water. Obviously Cityauto is doing well, but I am curious about the actual experience.

thnx JD, looking forward to your call.

Another "Game Changer": L2

Brian Hoecht brought out Lithia Motors L2.com

What makes L2 different?
-Shopping Cart purchase.
-One price, no negotiating
-One trade-in price, no negotiating.

My Take:
Love the clean design and layout and the intelligent "shop by payment" system, but, thats not a Game Changer. L2 has taken dead aim at the car shoppers dis-like of the Car Shopping Game and is trying to "turn on the light" to help show that it's playing a NEW GAME.

Want Proof? Take a look at L2's Beware the 4 Square.

IMO, customers are GRINDERS. They are TOUGH NEGOTIATORS. Lay downs are a rare breed these days. Collectively, customers want a simple pricing model, but, just watch them negotiate hard if things don't go their way.

Brian's been pounding the table telling us all that shoping cart systems to sell cars is coming! L2's model is confirmation that he's not alone! Maybe add in some "GetAbby" technology to make it even less personal! hahaha...

Ahem... Sorry, I'm still old school on this, folks like to touch, feel, smell to motivate them to "pull the trigger & take the plunge".

Hey! I think I can make this shopping cart thing fly!
If you had a clearance area on your site and it had a "dynamic" price where price dropped for 1 hour (when scheduled i.e. midnite sale). Hmmmm... the Shopping Cart system is alive and well! (to collect deposits) Hey! I like this "dynamic" price idea!!

Damn.. add yet another idea to my "to do" list!
Joe

"Game Changers" is right. It's these forms of outside-the-box thinking that will separate the players in auto sales.

I am a little familiar with AuctionDirectUSA from an SEO point of view. Their tactics have been strong for a few months now.

CityAuto rings a bell, but I didn't find them on my watchlist. They're on it now.

Regardless, these are the types of concepts that people are looking for, whether they realize it now or not. The Internet (rather, the people using it) is fickle and people have a short attention span. It is so important to find gems like these, innovate them, localize them, and turn them into money-makers as soon as possible.

Great post, Joe. I'll be calling you today.

I certainly agree with "Redsearch" (interesting name). Most research is skewed, which is extremely frustrating. Even health research and environmental research. The big oil companies ALL pay "research" companies to show how global warming is a "myth" and a natural occurrence. However, with time for purchasing, we actually took a years worth of data out of all of our stores and ran them against DMV records (Polk did it for us) to see when and what the leads ended up purchasing. What we found was of the 60%ish of the leads that actually bought within the 1 year time period, 54% bought within 1 week, 67% had bought by the end of week 2 and 84% were by the end of 4 weeks.

The fly for us in Google's research is the fact that of all of our leads, only 60% bought in the first year. Which means, nearly 40% were either bogus leads, people who went out of the market for some reason other than purchasing or perhaps just stole a car (I'm sure at least one of 'em did - we're outside Baltimore). So, I can't fully agree with them looking at "ALL" people searching, but I would say of those that are going to buy, they do quick!

Google Research comment...

Jeff you give great information, and I love the site. I hope my comments are seen as supporting, and cautionary, and not argumentative.

I am not saying I agree or disagree, but what I would like to do is make a recommendation to all readers to not assume everything you read with a "research" tag, coming from a specific company, or research paid for by a company, is fact. Don't always believe all the "research" you read from a company that is eager to get advertisers to start spending money in their medium. Of course they want buyers to think the results will come sooner rather than later.

In my opinion, there are just way too many variables to a dealership's adWords (or any PPC) campaigns, for turning clicks into sales, to put a blanket statement on when 70% of searchers will buy... seasonality, market, market location, competition and so forth, are just a few of those factors that would move that percentage and that times frame significantly.

Example:
I worked for one of the three top major travel websites. Just like everyone else, I saw the TV ads, with the "independent" research firms, talking about 50% less than Expedia, or 33% better than Travelocity, or 25% better than Orbitz.... What I learned is that those websites PAY the research firms to do a study on the website's selected markets, that they know they have worked deals to have better rates. They know they can't lose.... but people take it as fact because it is "research". What it is really is marketing...

Ok, I had a little eye juice on that one! Geez...I am mentally making a list of all the people I want to say something to and all the things I want to do before I die!

And as a comment to the Google Search, our Polk lead scoring model showed us very similar results. We had always guessed it, though our internet managers wanted to believe they were all "early" shoppers and that's why they never heard back from the customer. And now our response is, "No, your message just wasn't compelling enough for that customer and they went elsewhere and BOUGHT elsewhere."

Idealistic, futuristic and very cool Mr. Will Robinson...

But after much thought since this article was written, still believe people sell cars, not technology and that will continue for quite some time.

Intuition plays a big part in reading a customer through email messages, or the first 20 seconds on the phone. Just my opinion on phone scripts:

- A phone script can make anyone average
- Add personality to the script and one is above average
- Script outline (not word for word), plus personality, plus car savvy-product knowledge is A++ master appt setter

Abby could still be beneficial for product knowledge, model comparisons, and diverse languages we encounter.

Neat articles and ideas Alex, keep 'em coming!

Great article Alex. Well written and speaks the truth about this exciting new product that’s just around the corner from being then next big thing. I was at that meeting and was just blown away by the many applications Abby could be used for. Much like many of you on this Blog who are bucking the industries norm of being two years behind the curve, this is just a foundation of what’s yet to come. Can’t wait to see what’s next, and glad to be part of this innovative field. Thanks for all the great information on this blog site.

Oooohhh....that would be amazing! Heck - we can barely get REAL LIVE salespeople to understand their competitive comparisons. I think I love future Automotive Abby. Also, think if Abby could educate consumers on the major services their car needs, what it entails and why it is important...another win. Then, perhaps Abby could help us interview candidates for Job Positions - I saw that the ALICE site has a "personality" tester: "CLAUDIO." So many possibilities.

i was thinking about this on the drive home actually - in fact, in the near future off the shelf would probably be more like 'Audi Abby' who would be able to answer everything Audi, but may not know what a 'Toyota' is... and 'Automotive Abby' would probably be something custom, where Abby would be able to compare vehicles for the consumer, and explain differences between OEM's engines, for example - which is what the Checkered Flag's of the world would be interested in... right Alex?