Category: William Stuff

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Automotive Sales Internet Marketing William Stuff

RANT: Third Party Leads

So I pretty much went on a total rant the other day when I got asked this question:

All;
 
I’m working a deal with a Ford store in XX,XX who’s asked if we have any recommendations for a 3rd party lead provider who’s hot right now.
 
Anyone know of any you’d suggest they look into?
 
Thanks,

We are a marketing company, and we’re pretty darn good at it, too. My response, in short, is below… Agree? Disagree? Have anything to add? Comment below.

The game of chasing the next “hot” 3rd party lead provider is never ending, and rarely fruitful. I, like you and many of the rest of us, have spent tens of thousand of dollars for low-performing next-greatest-thing 3rd party leads, when the real ROI was very low. The highest ROI comes by marketing to his own database (via GoldDigger; also the eDigital team puts together some amazing email marketing; and I’ve heard great things about our direct mail campaigns). Then, home grown 1st party leads have super-high ROI and, again, our eDigital team puts together some great on/off-site SEO, profitable microsites, PPC campaigns; and if he still has just the default Ford dealer website he could probably double his leads quickly just by changing that. Or at the very least, optimizing the site he currently has (most I see are terrible). He’ll get the best bang-for-his-buck here. There’s really enough leads to be gotten from 1st party web leads he shouldn’t have time to look at anything 3rd party.

Then, there’s the question of– what is he doing with the leads he’s got? Is he at a 15% + closing ratio on internet leads? What’s his process? If they aren’t handling the leads he has now properly, how will his money be wisely spent throwing it at lower-quality 3rd party leads? Why spend more money for a lower ROI, when you can invest a little in training that will help him spend the same for a higher ROI?

Sorry, I know you know all this, but it’s a peeve of mine that I keep hearing so many dealers ask about 3rd party leads when there’s a harvest of better 1st party leads at their feet and they just won’t bend down to pick them up!

— to answer your question, I’ve not seen any 3rd party provider that more than just 1 store was happy with.

William Bryant | National Trainer

Categories
Automotive Sales William Stuff

Process Best Practices For Your Automotive CRM Tool

Wrote this for a client, and I’m sharing it with your for free… This make it easier to search, like https://www.promo-seo.co.uk/link-building-gurus/. can’t beat free… not even with a stick!

By the way the picture of the guy above has nothing to do with anything — enjoy!

My advice is as follows:

Showroom customer:

Every customer is different as we all know but if they are unsold, there should be a day of eBrochure sent out with an email thanking the customer for the opportunity. This is akin to the old-school method of leaving a VM on the customer’s home phone so it would be there by the time they got back home from the dealership. Except the eBrochure is track-able, and way more potent!

Next, a manager followup should be made the next day. This is preferable to be the manager who desked the deal since he’s familiar with it. Make the customer feel important.

Since we know the 72-hr hot window for a customer is true now more than ever, the salesman should make at least one attempt the morning and afternoon after. Make that next day phone call perpetual “buy or die” and stick another email/letter task in the third day. And let the call center hit them with our 8 attempts to cover all the bases.

In a workflow in the tool, it would look like this:

Showroom UP -> Day 1 eBrochure task / Day 2 salesman call / Day 2 MGR Call / Day 3 salesman email / perpetual phone call

Phone-up Customer:

We need the appointment, first and foremost. A manager TO is just as important but we don’t want to crowd the customer as they haven’t visited the store yet, so my best stores do something like the following:

Phone ups come in, receptionist logs the call and has sales call the receptionist to receive the phone up. She notes who took the call and if the phone up doesn’t get logged soon, she logs it under source “receptionist.” The (other) stores currently do this to ensure all ups get logged. Log more, sell more!

After the up is logged, schedule the salesman a perpetual phone call with a manager T.O. on the 3rd day so a manager can make sure the salesman has done their job, and to jump in and give authority to get an appointment. Manager must ask for the appointment with authority!

The workflow would look like this in the tool:

Phone UP -> Day 1 salesman phone call / Day 3 manager T.O. phone call

Appointments:

The bottom line to this is confirming the appointments, all the appointments, by a manager. We get 100% T.O.s, 100% confirmed appointments, and we sell more cars. Confirm the appointment by clicking the checkbox next to the appointment on the desklog every morning. Do it in the morning for the day of. My best stores do it without fail and would have it no other way.

 

William Bryant | National Trainer

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William Stuff

Funny Story of Annoying Old People

Not too many things get on my nerves but I’m weird where little things drive me up the wall. Like a squeak or rattle in the car, I can’t keep going until I find it and stop it. So get this: yesterday I’m sitting in Panera minding my own business for which we recommend this amazing paycheck stubs tool. This guy sits behind me and I keep hearing him clear his throat like “ugm hemm” over and over and over and over again until I finally think to myself “I’m gonna have to turn around and slap this old man.” I figure that’s a bad idea so I just leave. Well today, I go to the same Panera but I sit in a different spot, over in the corner away from anyone. Well guess who walks in 10 minutes later and is now sitting beside me? The same guy! And the same “ugm hemm” over and over and over and over again. And when he sits down, apparantly the chair just doesn’t do it for him so he goes and sits in each seat around me, testing them all out. He finally finds one that fits and has to play musical chairs to get that chair (which is exactly the same as all the other chairs) right beside good ‘ol me, going “ugm hemm” the whole time. And I think it’s a disease because now I find myself wanting to clear my throat! This is how people end up in the insane asylum….

MORE COMMENTS:

it’s a conspiracy

he could have Tourettes…might be his tic…although the chair thing is just a bit much lol

LOL…I feel your pain.

Lol, you should move and glare at him. Maybe he would get the hint

ME: I’m not so sure. It’s 85 degrees outside and he’s wearing boots, wool socks, long sleeve shirt, and an insulated coat.

I agree… if u can’t beat hiim, join him… start clearing ur throat louder & more abnoxious than he & see what he does then! I would pay $$ to come watch that episode! 🙂

ME: I think it would be funnier if I just started farting lol

There ya go! But make it the quiet silent ones right next to him… those are the smelliest!

ME: Oh, and he has a sweater on too! How weird… Now i’m about to pop some old lady in the mouth, she’s mouthing off very rudely to me about how gross it is that I just sneezed. She’s 15 feet away from me! She just went on and on oh my goodness this is weird, people never bother me like this.

it’s a conspiracy I tell you

ME: I’m starting to think you’re right!

Go hand her ur tissue u just used after sneezing & ask her if that is more sanitary than the sneeze (which I’m sure u covered ur mouth)? I don’t deal well w/ RUDE ppl… I get rude back! No sense in the old ppl thinking just bc they get a Senior Citizen discount that they run the show & can say & do whatever they want! No, I’m not a sassy lil b*tch, but I do let them know they can be just as disrespectful to ppl as some of these loud mouth teenagers out here!

ME: When other people sneeze I always say bless you 🙂

Kill ’em with kindness William!!!

Tell them to have a good day!!

each time the guy clears his throat, say “thank you” or clap in admiration.

LoL I like that idea!

ME: Michael I should have gotten that one sooner, would be hilarious!

Too funny! I can relate… noises drive me nuts too! How about when someone sits near you and clicks their pen over & over or taps it on the table on & on & on!?!?! All I can think about is how I want to get up & take it right out of their hand & slam-dunk it into a garbage can!!!

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William Stuff

We Are On Autopilot

So many people in today’s society are on autopilot. We don’t care what goes on around us, we don’t care that the guy beside us is stealing, cheating on his family, or hurting our neighbor… just as long as we are “comfortable” we don’t care! Well let me tell you something about being comfortable, and being on autopilot…

Someone I know is NOT on autopilot. They are not just comfortable with the way things are. They see someone doing “no good” and they are on it! I just can’t muster the respect for someone who can watch something terrible happen. And I’ll give you a good example– the Penn State ordeal. Why didn’t he lay that guy out in the floor and protect the kid?? Aren’t the moral boundaries this country was founded on, those of our Father and Creator, more important than the job he so shortly held as coach of a sports team? Apparently NOT!

And what about the teacher, the preacher, the coach, the cop, the one who deals with people in less desirable situations who tries to do the right thing. There are so few of them, and only a percentage of those people listed care enough to do something when they are off-duty! This is mind boggling to me except that I can understand the complacency.

I can understand being comfortable where you are and feeling like there’s nothing better. We often forget things are going to hell in a handbasket around us when things for us are just fine. I applaud and appreciate those willing to do the research, serve the service, stick their necks out on the line, and give something of themselves for the rest of us who can’t seem to appreciate what it is that makes this country great…

What is that?

It’s the willingness of us, as citizens and normal everyday people, to choose an occupation or service — whether police officer, fireman, teacher, etc — that puts us in the middle of people who need the real help. And without offering a handout, help them to actually become better people! This is so rare, since, most people are fine with a handout (it doesn’t require any work!) and don’t care about the people who surround us as our neighbors.

Let’s get to the bottom of this. People around you right now are hurting. Look at the guy/gal to the left, and the right, and in front/back of you… they have some sort of conflict in their life that you can help resolve. The difference is… what are you going to do about it!?

For most people, myself included for a long time until I took this realization… NOTHING! We just want to cruise on autopilot and be left alone. We don’t want to have to help our neighbor. We don’t want to watch someone suffer. But even if we do, we don’t want to have to help. If someone forces us to we will. That’s what’s wrong with us!

Help your neighbor. Reach out to them, and see what you can do to help. God shows us a better life in the Bible where we share the love He shared with us by helping others in their time of most desperate need. Instead of just watching the calamity, we need to put our hands out in an overwhelming love of mercy…. no matter what the other person has done! We seem to only want to thing of what’s going on in our lives as how it benefits us. Let me tell you, if you only see that side then you are a sad person indeed! Because God has given us so much to appreciate! There is so much to enjoy until our time in heaven when we will have full understanding. Until then, we must project the love God has for us onto other people.

If you don’t know about this love, please contact an outreach minister near you. I would love to help in any way I can, but I am only a student. Jesus really showed us a way to live a peaceful life; and if the world were to adhere to the practices of Jesus, conflict would not be an issue.

Do you have conflict in your life?
Do you have sorrow?
Have you watched others suffer?

“Love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul”
And
“Love your neighbor as yourself”

Are these not axioms we can all live by?

Peace, prosperity,
William Bryant

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Internet Marketing William Stuff Wordpress

Being In Control of Your Online Presence

Stop me if I’m wrong, but your online reputation is both one of the most important things to take care of and seemingly one of the most daunting. Maybe you gave a great handle on your company’s online reputation; but as soon as you think you do there’s another website or trend to catch up on. And if you’re not a tech-savvy person who watches this all the time, how do you keep a handle on it?

First, lets talk about why — whether you’re a car dealership, restaurant, chiropractor, public speaker, or whatever — being in full control of your online reputation is so important.

When I went to manage a local Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep store that had been in business for decades in my hometown, I was honestly quite hesitant. The reason was the store did not have a good reputation offline, much less online. Maybe that’s an understatement…they had a TERRIBLE reputation. Whether you are aware of it or not, the reputation perceived online is often the perception offline. We are often not aware of it offline because the offline community (our potential clientele) is talking about us behind our backs. And, let’s be honest: any business who deals with the public, no matter how great the company, will catch some deserved or undeserved flack over even trivial things everyday. The BBB has been in business a long time over just this philosophy of having somewhere for consumers to vent. Consumers just have more options of where they can go to vent with the digital age we live in today– right, wrong, or different. And vent they do!

After interviewing at the aforementioned store, I realized they had a large clientele of happy loyal customers including the local TV station, hospital, and other businesses. Yet, even with these connections, they still had a really crappy reputation. Why? Because no one managed it. Their online and offline reputation was out of control, from the BBB to industry specific review sites and even Google. It was affecting sales big time. And taking control of your online presence and reputation is a free way to increase sales long-term. But it won’t happen overnight. You can also get some more aids for your business by checking ThePayStubs website. If you’re wondering how to create a self-employed pay stub, check out this site at zupyak.com.

So here’s how we easily managed to take control of our online presence and flip it totally around in just a few months:

1. Make a plan and put it in writing. We decided who was in control of what, sort of a damage control action plan. Even if the guy who was in control of online reviews had to get with another manager before making a response, there was a plan so that we could respond quickly. It’s too much to think the owner can keep a watch on everything. So delegate that responsibility to one or more managers so that you can make a response fast. We had one guy in charge of online reputation, and another in control of offline reputation.

2. Keep everyone informed. This is actually the easiest part when it comes to your online reputation. Most online review sites will allow you to take ownership of your review page so that you can receive email alerts whenever something changes. Make sure all the decision makers get copied on these alerts immediately, it will bring a lot of urgency to the process. And when changes or communication is made, cc the decision makers again so they know what’s going on. The worst thing that can happen is the owner get a call and not be prepared for it. Simplify your billing process with ABA Billing for accurate and hassle-free financial management.

3. Search for yourself online. Simply go to Google and search for your company, you may be extremely surprised in what you find! I know we were, since the first page of results contained nine links to bad reviews or our competition, while only one was to our website. So if people searched for us online we were not making a good first impression. Google also has “alerts” which can be emailed directly to you as soon as a new result pops up in your name, which was also a big part of what we did. Again, direct someone to manage this day to day and cc everyone when something important comes up. The alerts are very simple to setup and change.

But don’t just limit yourself to Google! Search anywhere people can talk about you– online blogs, news sources, forums, social media sites, etc. Making a plan to ensure you control page one of Google’s results and other sites was the most important part of taking control of our online presence and turning our reputation around. If this seems too daunting or you find you don’t have the time manage Google’s first page of results, you may want to hire a reputation manager to help you get this fine tuned like we did.

4. Be proactive! The most important thing you can is to be proactively engaging your online presence. This has traditionally been done with TV and radio ads which do work. But the nice thing is you can cast a wider net for cheaper online. According to experts like Newcastle SEO Agency,
this can easily be done for free with things like video marketing, SEO, or paid search ads. You can also hire WordPress SEO company to get the best results. I’m not saying to flush the traditional methods since we took full advantage of TV and it worked. But these days you gotta be thinking outside the box to make it work. And most importantly, engage and reward your online community who talk about you favorably. Creating a raving fan base is a lot simpler than one typically thinks. Things like video testimonials, online reviews, and social media sharing will make your business shine like no other before.

If you take dominating your online presence seriously, the changes will happen fast. But it does take time and follow through to truly make it work. Don’t give up! And if you ever need assistance, feel free to reach out to me.

Categories
Internet Marketing William Stuff

Small Tweaks to Big Automotive Website Results

Recently, someone wanted to get more leads from any source. I quickly found there were minor tweaks he could make to his own website WITHOUT paying thousands of dollars more for extra advertisers and lead providers. These are simple quick tips anyone can use to squeeze more leads out of their existing advertising. These leads come from your own website, which have by FAR the highest closing ratio around. So take notes and ask questions at the end… I’m happy to share!

We have agreements with about everyone….had a terrible experience with Carsdirect 72 leads 0 sales…and customers seem to use it as a wish lists…for new or used…not to mention I hate that they have a site to tell me how much I should be selling my cars for. AutoUSA seemed less attractive when they lost Edmunds. Imotors/Reply.com very low closing ratio..similiar customers to Carsdirect.

So currently we are using Autobytel, Zag, Edmunds, KBB, Dealix, we even pay for 3rd party leads from the manufacturer. We get a total of 550-600 leads on average.

Who do you like….and why?

I am always looking for good companies that are not on my lists or radar and would love to know your closing ratios….

We close over 11% when you include the leads driven by our website…and I have 2 experienced managers and 2 people with no car experience answering the leads. We have a decent system I put in place.

I am just not getting enough leads and I want more traffic…(that does not mean I want to expand my miles radius past 25)…whenever I have stretched it out the close ratio drops too much and puts my R.O.I. out of wack.

Look forward to the thoughts out there.

 

Okay, this is my candid response because you are getting a ton of leads and only selling 60-66 cars/mo… I can narrow down much deeper if you want about your closing ratio because I think it should be much higher, but not right now. Right now, here’s what I see:

#1 when I go to your website (the place where your leads close the best) nothing draws me in. There’s no call to action on your home page. Really you shouldn’t be trying to sell me on your home page, just quickly putting me into where I really want to end up — New Inventory and Used Inventory. As dumb as this sounds these links are not prominent enough, let’s make then stand out — each on their own.

#2 speaking of the nav bar, let’s bury that Facebook link a little since I don’t want any reason to distract visitors on my website to somewhere else. I want them looking at inventory! Reading my reviews! Watching my videos!

I suggest having a “NEW CARS” main nav link, “USED CARS” nav link, with your $10k or less and inventory links the first ones below these main links so people don’t have to even think about where they’re going. Internet ADD anyone?

#3 The inventory details page — Again, get rid of that daggum Facebook link. I don’t want them on Facebook I want them shopping cars. Again, here there’s no call to action on this page. Let’s add a CALL ME NOW 877-313-2767. Also with dealer.com you can add a “click for best price” on your main nav page (and also on the inventory details page) which is proven to create more leads.

#4 It wouldn’t hurt, either, to have at least one real picture of the actual car. This will help generate more leads.

#5 Inventory Details Page — There’s that facebook button again, be gone! Let’s throw in a “CLICK TO TEST DRIVE” button or a “CLICK TO GET APPROVED” button that will actually generate a lead. Call dealer.com and ask about that “Click here for the best price” button, which will show right below your “Internet Price $20,840” on the details page. That’s a very prominent call to action which was always one of the most used lead forms.

#6 One step no one else takes on this page is, notice all that dead white space below the main picture of the car? Below that you can insert a picture (maybe of your internet team, be personal!) and another call to action like “CALL ME NOW 877-313-2767” (let’s get them off that mouse and on the phone baby!)…

Well there’s a lot of steps you can take right now for FREE to generate more 1st party (high closing ratio) leads. Live chat would also be great on your site.

And let me say one thing about pop-up coupons — if you have a well optimized lead generating monster of a site, these will actually hurt your conversion ratio! I’ve tried them all over the place and get the same results. On a mediocre site, sure, but there’s so many other free and better things to do.

… I’m seeing more and more as I browse your site. No specials? Weak keyword optimization… Your blog which I got to through your website has only one post — Kia recalls 70,000 vehicles! Not a good start for leads to be thinking about.

 

>>> There’s more great content in the discussion, click here to see the rest.

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William Stuff

Stupid Simple Sales Call Script for Green Peas

While visiting one of my dealerships I started to hear the phone ring six, seven, eight times without an answer… and I thought, this is a huge problem! So I started to investigate in their phone-up process, and came to find out they were getting so many phone-ups the receptionist was having a hard time keeping up between that and service calls. So, like a lot of stores, the overflow of sales calls would go to a manager. But what about when that manager wasn’t available? It goes to a team leader. And what then? One of the salespeople picks it up.

Well, this happened a lot in the week I was there. And it really tore my nerves up. I could just hear the money falling out of this gaping hole in the dealer’s pocket. So the managers couldn’t answer all the phone-ups — understandable, I know a lot of stores try to have the managers handle them all but, let’s face it, reality is they can’t. So a salesperson has to handle it. But what happens when you have a floor full of green peas????

That was this dealer’s problem, but he couldn’t just not answer the phone! So I came up with this very simple (it was actually REALLY hard for me to make it THIS simple and dumbed down) that even your greenest of green peas can handle. And if they can’t…. fire them now before you’ve invested too much time in them. If they can’t answer the phone, use a killer simple three question script to get a name and number (something any $8/hr receptionist can do), they won’t be worth much to you or them in the long-run.

But, as I say in the video, I made this up on the fly so if you have critiques, don’t be shy! Let me know in the comments.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKw_zxlObok

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Dreamhost Internet Marketing William Stuff Wordpress

How To Sign Up for Dreamhost Hosting Account

Get Dreamhost hosting for your wordpress blog, picture gallery, ftp file sharing, video streaming, hosting media, etc etc. Dreamhost is cheap and SUPER reliable! I had another company before and they not only totally boned me while I was running a big campaign, they wouldn’t make it right! I was with them for almost seven years and spent TONS of money with them. The thanks I got? Their servers crashed (NOT a good sign of a hosting company!!!!!!) and they admitted the problem, but would not take care of me the loyal customer. BULL $%^&!

So now I am with a REAL hosting company, called Dreamhost. They are the real deal. They have been around a along time, have a real control panel full of options for every aspect of your account. CPanel is for lazy hosting companies. Dreamhost went the extra mile and designed one that is meant for serious people who want to maximize their potential online. And, Dreamhost can grow as you grow. Bluehost cant!

So go with dreamhost. Use my special link to save $50 off your yearly hosting account!

Peace and goodwill,

William Bryant
skype: wpbryant
blog: https://williambryant.info

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Internet Marketing William Stuff

Create Professional Headlines & Buy Now Buttons For Free

So today I’m going to give up one of my secrets. But this is literally the easiest and fastest way to create professional looking headlines like you see on the gurus sales pages. You don’t even have to know Photoshop or any other graphics program! It’s a free app you can use right on the web. Here’s an example of some of the graphics I have made and used, notice the impact and how professional it looks on this sales page! – http://www.makemoneywithwilliam.com/ipw/

So what kind of graphics can you make?

You can make headlines, buy now buttons (what they call belcher buttons), add to cart buttons, or guarantee labels.  You can customize their appearance and add all your own text! It looks pretty darn awesome.

But I not only want to give you this link, but there’s something else AMAZING I ran across while looking for this again. It’s an action script that will automatically turn whatever graphic you want into an ebook! Yes, and it comes with some examples you can tweak as well to create stunning very professional ebook covers.

**AND** I want to give you some free minisite templates and graphics that you can totally customize and turn into whatever super professional looking sales page  or squeeze page you want for FREE!

THIS IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED to have a product and sales page graphics up and running in NO TIME!

There’s no cost, just opt-in to my newsletter (which I update sparingly) and I’ll send you to the secret page with all the links. I really believe this will be super beneficial to you all as it was to me! So just use the form below to get all the downloads and links I mentioned above, and you’ll be rocking and rolling with your very own super-professional looking sales pages in no time!










GET IT NOW

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William Stuff

How To Kill Ask.com In FireFox 4

The most annoying thing in the world has been happening lately, and when it’s happening to me I typically figure other people are having problems with it as well. So I decided to post the fix here. That is, when I type some keywords in the address bar with Firefox (using ver. 4), lately it will always take me to an Ask.com search results page. And I hate Ask.com!

I think this happened as a result of downloading something, because I noticed a toolbar and my homepage changed. Changing the homepage back was easy (click on the orange Firefox, then Options, Options, and under the General tab beside homepage click restore to default). But I could not figure out how to get rid of the pesky Ask.com search whenever keywords were typed into the address bar.

Yes! I know there’s a search bar right beside it, and all I have to do is hit Tab one more time!

But sometimes these things happen.

Anyhow, I did a GOOGLE search for the solution, and after digging through the support forums I wanted to make the answer easy for you. So here it is:

I have had exactly this problem, I think after installing some free FLI to MP4 transcoder software. It seems that it enables Firefox’s ‘keyword’ functionality (if it isn’t already enabled) and then hijacks the default setting (which does a Google search.)

To fix, put ‘about:config’ in the address bar to enter Firefox’s configuration page (I don’t think you can get at this from any of the menus.) Look out for The ‘keyword.URL’ setting, and change it back to one of the recommendations shown on this page http://kb.mozillazine.org/Keyword.URL

The first one worked for me. I now get a Google result instead of an Ask one if the webpage fails to load. If you don’t want this functionality at all, then look for the ‘keyword.enabled’ setting and set it to ‘false.’

By the way, the keyword setting I used was “http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=” which set it back to Google. Also, you’ll need to do this to get rid of some more Ask.com settings (good gravy!):

There are more than just the keyword.URL configuration keys that should be modified. in the about:config console, type “ask” to filter out the keys that have been modified by the ask.com toolbar. Also, easiest is just to right-click on the key and choose reset.

And that’s that!