If you ask any salesperson on the planet if they think social media can create more leads, opportunities, and sold units you will hear “Absolutely!” If you then ask all of those same salespeople if they are effectively delivering more units through social media the majority of answers completely change to “no” or “not really.” For this reason, I want to provide clarity on exactly how you can set yourself up on social media to create and capture business!
First things first, if you are reading this right now and are not utilizing social media to capture more business, great news! That will change by the time you finish this article. If you are currently experiencing success, stay tuned, I have something for you!
Step 1: Get In The Game!
If you are going to utilize sites like Facebook to capture more business than you must have an account. Now I’m assuming you already have one but in the event you don’t, I want to make sure we start from ground zero. The fact of the matter is simple, if you are not utilizing this free platform to market yourself, you should reconsider your career. It is far too painful to come into this amazing business and become a victim of “floor traffic” or “walk ins.” To take advantage of the opportunities available, you need to have a personal profile set up on Facebook!
Step 2: Represent!
Look, many people avoid representing themselves and their careers on Facebook. They do so because they don’t want to spam their friends with “work stuff” or they want Facebook to be this private space for friends and family only. There are two big problems with this mindset:
1) The exact people you should be looking at to start the growth of your audience are FRIENDS & FAMILY! If you are not committed to your career it will end quickly and painfully; this is a fact. When you are committed to your career and the value that you personally bring to the marketplace, you should be announcing that to the world, especially to your friends and family.
2) NEWSFLASH – Nothing is private on Facebook! I always find it amusing that people feel all of their personal info and pictures are safely stowed away online when they are not. If you want to have a collection of memories that are for friends and families eyes only, get a photo album and kick it old school.
So when I say represent, you need to go all in! By all in I mean let your Facebook page clearly illustrate to your viewers that you are an automotive sales professional. Your main banner picture, as well as your profile picture, should tell the world that you are in the business. Remember, perception is reality and if people are going to land on your page, be sure that they will know without a shadow of a doubt that you are in the car business. I currently have over 1500 friend requests on Facebook that I can’t accept because my friend list is maxed out. When I have a spot open to accept a new friend, I simply scroll the list and if I can clearly identify that you are an automotive sales professional, I accept. If I cannot clearly identify an individual, I skip over them. Your potential customers will do the same.
Step 3: Build It, They Will Come!
I don’t care if you have 5 or 4500 friends on your list, the goal is simple; max out your friend list! Facebook will allow you to have 5000 friends on your list. Set a goal every day to add 10 new people to your friend list each day. You have heard the saying “It’s a numbers game;” well, it’s true. The person you grab a coffee from each day should be on your list along with every single human being you ever come into contact with that has a pulse. If you are starting from zero as you read this then do the math. If you committed to adding 10 people per day to your page than you would hit 5000 in about a year and a half. Your career is not a race, it is a marathon, so stay the course. Before you know it you will have a maxed out following that will be producing numerous car deals each month.
Step 4: Provide Value!
Our industry has “push marketed” to our customers for what seems like forever and it has become quite evident that customers are fed up with it! By “push marketing” I mean, dealerships/salespeople blowing up the telephones of potential customers to tell them about all the money they can save if they buy a car right now. This approach simply pisses people off because there is no respect shown to them. Think about it, we make calls to people who have no interest or desire to spend 20k-80k on a nicer newer vehicle yet we believe they’ll change their mind because we are going to save them money on a purchase they have no intention of making.
The key to developing a power base of raving fan advocates on Facebook is to effectively utilize “pull marketing.” By “pull marketing” I mean, provide value that will keep them engaged with you and your page. This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of successfully marketing in today’s world. You see the content you provide is not a showcase of your product necessarily but instead an opportunity to showcase YOU!
I have always said “people don’t buy cars, people buy people!” and for this reason, you should utilize your social presence as an opportunity for your audience to get to know you. Providing value can be a number of different things. For example, you could shoot a video informing your audience of where they can find the best gas prices in the area. By doing so, you are afforded an opportunity to indirectly sell yourself through a video where you share this valuable information. When you continue to be viewed by potential customers in this manner, they develop a comfort level with you that will have them seeking you out when they are in the market. The key is to remain “top of mind” with your audience to the point that when an automotive need arises in their life, you will be the first name they think of and in turn reach out to!
Step 5: Be Consistent!
There is no such thing as too much value so I personally aim to post at least once a day. At the bare minimum, I would suggest aiming to deliver 3 to 5 posts of value per week. An example of a text post that you could use would look like this:
“Have you considered tinting the windows on your vehicle? It could prolong the life of your interior from fading due to the sun! Just a friendly tip from Alan your car guy!”
An example of a video post that you could use could simply be you sharing the news about where the best gas prices in your area are. Again, this allows your audience to become familiar and comfortable with you.
Step 6: Engagement!
All of the posts you make on Facebook will produce comments and opinions, do not ignore them as it is very important to engage your audience. If someone is taking the time to provide feedback on your posts, taking the time to respond goes a long way. Remember, your Facebook page can and will act as a “rapport builder” with potential customers.
Step 7: Never Make It About You When It’s About You!
I know, I know, you are reading that again for the third time, let me explain.
If you look at my Facebook pages, you will notice that I do not directly sell to my audience. I do have numerous programs that continue to change the lives of salespeople in our industry but I don’t blatantly post things like “buy my stuff” or “90% off.”
When I am looking to find warm prospects, I follow a very simple yet effective rule:
“Never Make Statements, Always Ask Questions!”
You see this is how you can effectively create engagement that can and will lead to opportunities. For example, you could post a question like this:
“When You Bought Your Current Vehicle:
– What Year Was It?
– What Was the Term?”
This will get you a number of responses as it is an engaging question. Notice also how it has nothing to do with me? Now when the responses start coming in and people are saying “5 years ago and 72 months” they are basically telling you that their vehicle has 1 year of payments remaining. Studies have shown that many customers trade in their vehicles within 18 months of their contract ending. These are the types of posts that you can be making that will produce multiple leads within the same day while never directly “selling” the customer.
Step 8: Create a Facebook Business Page!
There is a reason I waited so long to mention this step. Many hear of a Facebook “business page” and decide to go that route while ignoring everything I have shared with you so far. The reason many get caught in that trap is that you are actually able to run targeted ads to the posts that you make on your business page. The problem is you still need to develop an audience of followers to market to. While this is an area I could write a novel on, we will save that for another post.
What you want to do is establish a business page that you can draw followers. One of the many ways you can do this is by posting all of your content from your business page originally and then share it to your personal page. This will allow your audience to see where the content is coming from which will allow you to pick up extra “likes” on your page from the people who are enjoying your content.
Look, here’s the deal, there is a ton of business available to you online when you position yourself properly. The only reason motivated people don’t take action to build it is because they don’t know how. The combination of posting effective video and text content is guaranteed to deliver you massive returns.
If you are anything like me, you would love it if there was a step by step example of how to utilize all of the various techniques discussed in this article. For that reason, I have created my A.C.E Social Hacks program where I show all of my winning clients exactly how I do everything on social media. This is a program that will show you how I created an audience of concentrated automotive professionals exceeding 30,000 in less than 19 months. This is significant because while my audience is automotive specific, your audience is human beings with a drivers license and a pulse; it is far more vast!
To check out the A.C.E Social Hacks program >> CLICK HERE
I also have cracked the code on creating marketing videos that generate hundreds of thousands of views organically! To discover how to utilize everything discussed in this article while mastering video, check out my Cracking The Video Marketing Code program where I show you the exact 10 steps I follow for every marketing video I create.
To check out the Cracking The Video Marketing Code program >> CLICK HERE
In closing, I have just one question for you….
If the best ime to plant a tree was 20 years ago, when’s the next best time?
EXACTLY!
Get set up on social media properly and start creating the production levels and paychecks that you deserve, or find yourself on the point waiting for the “up bus” #DontHoldYourBreath
Make It A Great Day!
-Alan
If you are serious about investing in yourself and are ready to learn how to dominate every single aspect of your automotive sales career then fill out the form below and let’s talk!
