Custom Solutions

Social Auto Sales

Taking Auto Sales To The Next Level

Many people believe you can not sell a new car online. Just ask any successful car sales person and they will tell you flat out… It can’t be done. It is as simple as this,

‘Nobody is going to plop down $20K to $50K for a car over the Internet without so much as a handshake’.

And the numbers tend to agree. Even with a large investment in Internet technology such as Mobile Apps, Facebook Fan Pages, Twitter accounts and all the time and effort that go along with an auto dealerships push onto the Internet, there does not seem to be any significant increase in sales. The explosion in popularity of social networking and the Internet does not seem to be translating into increased ROI.

On the other hand, there can be no denying that the Internet and social networking hold the potential to transform industries and make or break businesses over a very short period time. What determines an industries vulnerability to change from the outside is where the control rests. When it’s in the hands of the customers, the industry closely follows the direction of the Internet users. When the control of the industry is in the hands of a a few wealthy and entrenched individuals, as is the case with car dealerships, the industry stays it’s coarse in total disregard to the wishes of the the Internet and it’s users.

But just like water can wear down a mountain if it has enough time, auto dealerships will eventually have to give in and go with the flow of the Internet and it’s users. The only question is how long will they resist the inevitable changes going on all around them. And which one will give in and go with the flow.

The problem the dealerships are having is a fundamental misunderstanding of the way the Internet and social networking functions. It’s understandable that the dealerships are having a hard time grasping the the new philosophy. It’s hard to teach an old dog a new trick.

No only is change is pounding on the gates of auto dealerships in the form of customers, but it’s also coming from inside the dealerships in the form of the auto manufactures. Toyota for instance has introduced the Scion with flat pricing that reflects the customers desire not to have to wheel and deal to purchase a new car. And that is what it all boils down to after all. Customers don’t trust auto dealerships and their sales people as far as they can throw them.

Auto dealerships will fight tooth and nail to keep the good old fashion pricing system. They can’t imagine a customer trusting then because they can’t imagine themselves being trustworthy. And the Internet can’t help them sell cars that way.

So instead of trying to selling cars over the Internet, dealerships need to start building trust with their customers over the internet. And I don’t mean any thing special or heavy… Dealerships just need to start making connections between themselves and customers. Human connections. And that is what social networking and the Internet do best.

It’s very easy to create connections and build a degree of trust online with an email, a blog post or comment, a simple brief chat session or ever a wall post, Twitter Tweat or simple Facebook Like. Every last employee should be online with their picture in a profile. Their likes and dislikes, their background and on and on. It’s really very simple. And just imagine over time as the connection begin to form and multiply just like social networking itself.

Eventually someone is going to want to buy a car. And if they know someone in that dealership, someone with whom they have made that connection, they can step onto the dreaded car lot, walk right past the sales person and ask for the person they trust. It does not matter if it’s a mechanic, a receptionist or even one of the sales people, once the customer is standing in the showroom without the fear of being ripped of or being made a fool of, what else is left?

All that is left is picking out their car and closing the deal. That car was not sold online, but the Internet made the connection between two people and that in turn made the sale possible.

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