Beyond The First Pencil

So many changes.

Kathi provides an update on her Facebook video content testing. While the numbers continue to climb on her page’s posts, there is also more effort (ie: time) required to keep bad actors from commenting and messaging. 

Mike revisits Google My Business Google Business Profiles and the recent changes he’s been seeing. Hint: somehow Google isn’t including photo metrics in their reporting. Is this just a momentary blip before things level out?

In our music segment:

Steely Dan - Aja documentary HERE

Get in touch with us!

Kathi: [email protected]

Mike: [email protected]

Download Kathi’s FREE Guide to Social Media for Car Salespeople here 👉 https://bit.ly/socialsellingvip

There was a certain dealership-produced viral video this week that showed the exact reason why, if you don’t know how to be funny, don’t try to be. 

Kathi wrote about this debacle on her blog and there’s a link to the video in her post. Check it out HERE.

Earlier in the episode, Kathi and Mike discuss online reviews and why it's important to not just ask for them, but give them too!

Then, we get an update on an experiment that began a few weeks ago. Kathi’s began adding more video to the content mix on the Hanaeleh Facebook page. It continues to surprise.

In the music segment:

Seems like everything old is new again. 

Dead Kennedys: California Uber Alles

Heaven 17: Fascist Groove Thang

Dead Kennedys: Nazi Punks Fuck Off

Get in touch with us!

Kathi: [email protected]

Mike: [email protected]

Download Kathi’s FREE Guide to Social Media for Car Salespeople here 👉 https://bit.ly/socialsellingvip

A few weeks ago in their earnings call, Facebook/Meta announced that they were changing the newsfeed to show about 30% more “discoverable” content. That means ads and content from people/pages you don’t already follow. 

They also mentioned that video content will be given higher preference in the newsfeed. That got Kathi thinking about how to test it...and we have some results.

In this week’s episode, we share the results so far and discuss tips about video content, especially for car salespeople.

Music segment:

We talk about bands that broke up too soon. 

Here’s the funniest SNL skit on Synchronized Swimming (and Thompson Twins are the musical guest!) https://archive.org/details/saturday-night-live-s-10-e-01-the-thompson-twins

Get in touch with us!

Kathi: [email protected]

Mike: [email protected]

Download Kathi’s FREE Guide to Social Media for Car Salespeople here 👉 https://bit.ly/socialsellingvip

According to a new Manheim Index report, used car market prices are down 3.6% in just the first half of August. New car inventory is still scarce and Jack Hollis, head of sales for Toyota Motor North America, says dealership inventory levels won't be able to grow at all until perhaps the third quarter of 2023, and are unlikely to ever return to their pre-pandemic levels.

What do you do with marketing and advertising during this tumultuous time?

Kathi and Mike share their insights on this question. We have always advocated being open to new tactics - there is a whole world out there waiting to hear from you and your employees. 

We also share a special social strategy that is turning this mom and pop business into a major player with Pinterest, Google Business Profile and Twitter!

Check out the James Garner doc The Racing Scene HERE 

In our music segment, we each tell a story of ONE of our memorable experiences at The Roxy (on Sunset here in So Cal).

Get in touch with us!

Kathi: [email protected]

Mike: [email protected]

And don’t forget to download Kathi’s FREE Guide to Social Media for Car Salespeople here 👉 https://bit.ly/socialsellingvip

Don’t forget to checkout Kathi’s new online course “Social Media for Car Sales Masterclass.” Learn more about it HERE. Use the promo code VIP20 to get 20% off. 

There seems to be a lot of “auto influencers” on social media right now. While getting attention is good, you always want to gain the right attention. 

Kathi and Mike discuss the state of online automotive celebrities and what a regular car person can do to make a name for themselves, often with a small network, that blows “celebrity” out of the water.

Get in touch with us!

Kathi: [email protected]

Mike: [email protected]

And don’t forget to download Kathi’s FREE Guide to Social Media for Car Salespeople here 👉 https://bit.ly/socialsellingvip

Don’t forget to checkout Kathi’s new online course “Social Media for Car Sales Masterclass.” Learn more about it HERE. Use the promo code VIP20 to get 20% off. 

Two BIG topics this week:

1. What happens when the manufacturer requires a new dealer agreement for specific products and what you agreed to is coming back to bite you? In the past few years, due to many factors, the relationships between dealers and manufacturers have changed. 

Kathi and Mike discuss a situation that’s happening in Australia, but dealers in the U.S. and Canada should be keeping an eye on how it unfolds.

Article we discussed about MBZ Australia is HERE

2. You may have heard of Facebook/Meta’s focus on virtual reality called Metaverse. They are betting the farm on it becoming “a thing” and we’ll have to see how that pans out for automotive retail. Kathi attended an “Autoverse” webinar made especially for automotive retail and we discuss the, um, highlights?

Kathi’s LinkedIn post with her initial reaction to the webinar is HERE including a link in the comments if you’d like to watch the webinar replay…and are ok with giving up 45 minutes of your life you’ll never get back.

In our music segment, we talk about an underrated band, The Call. Check them out HERE

Get Kathi’s new online course “Social Media for Car Sales Masterclass.” Learn more about it HERE. Use the promo code VIP20 to get 20% off. 

Get in touch with us!

Kathi: [email protected]

Mike: [email protected]

And don’t forget to download Kathi’s FREE Guide to Social Media for Car Salespeople here 👉 https://bit.ly/socialsellingvip

This week, we welcome our long-time friend Josh Friedman as our guest. Josh is the New Car Sales Manager at CMA’s Colonial Chevrolet in Chester, VA. 

Not only is Josh an amazing manager who’s truly doing cutting edge moves at his store and with his team…but he’s also a music fan like we are. Josh shares some of his great stories about punk in Washington DC back in the day (a long way from Kathi and Mike’s ‘hood in So Cal). 

Links to the things we discussed:

The new proposed FTC rule for dealers: ​​HERE

Josh’s project, the documentary Desolation Center: HERE 

Salad Days: HERE 

Punk in The Capital: HERE

Heavy Metal Parking Lot:  HERE

Dave Grohl:

Sound City: HERE

What Drives Us: HERE

Jeff Krulik (director of punk documentaries): HERE

Punk and Tomatoes (Fear on SNL - a must watch!): HERE

Get Kathi’s new online course “Social Media for Car Sales Masterclass.” Learn more about it HERE. Use the promo code VIP20 to get 20% off. 

Get in touch with us!

Kathi: [email protected]

Mike: [email protected]

And don’t forget to download Kathi’s FREE Guide to Social Media for Car Salespeople here 👉 https://bit.ly/socialsellingvip

The car business labor market is very fluid right now and the age-old complaint about staffing - “You can’t find good people” - is about to really hit home for you (if it hasn’t already). With the workforce developing different reasons for work, and very different motivators, smart dealership managers are adapting by implementing new hiring practices and paying close attention to company culture.

Kathi and Mike share their insights of how to retain good employees during this challenging time, where people are leaving the workforce for online opportunities.

In our music segment: The Pogues and their leader Shane McGowan.

Documentary: Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane McGowan on Hulu HERE

Here’s what Rolling Stone said: Julian Temple’s portrait of the Pogues singer is a rambling, messy, wild, sad and inspirational doc — in other words, a fine tribute to its subject

Kathi’s new online course “Social Media for Car Sales Masterclass” is LIVE - you can learn more about it HERE. Use the promo code VIP20 to get 20% off. Got questions? Email [email protected] or message me on social media.

Get in touch with us!

Kathi: [email protected]

Mike: [email protected]

And don’t forget to download Kathi’s FREE Guide to Social Media for Car Salespeople here 👉 https://bit.ly/socialsellingvip

Kathi and Mike welcome Tim “FordVideoGuy” Bartz to the show. Tim is the Internet Manager at Long McArthur Ford Lincoln in Salina KS. Both of us consider Tim a pioneer in today’s automotive retailing. He’s creating unique ways to deliver extreme value to customers and blazing a trail for others who know that social selling is the future of the car business.

You won’t want to miss Tim’s tips on how he has led his team to higher sales using live video, advanced engagement tactics and social media promotion techniques.  Want to connect with Tim? Find him HERE 

We also share insight into a very new Facebook concern for page managers. 

Kathi’s new online course “Social Media for Car Sales Masterclass” is LIVE - you can learn more about it HERE. Use the promo code VIP20 to get 20% off. Got questions? Email [email protected] or message me on social media.

Get in touch with us!

Kathi: [email protected]

Mike: [email protected]

And don’t forget to download Kathi’s FREE Guide to Social Media for Car Salespeople here 👉 https://bit.ly/socialsellingvip

If you’ve got a Facebook Business Page, it’s likely changes are afoot again. We noticed some changes this week and we’d love to tell you about them. We also share ways to get more page visibility in unique ways.

Kathi and Mike then talk about the challenges of managing used car inventory today. Prices are in flux, moving very fast, and if you don’t pay close attention, you can find yourself underwater.

In our music segment: Mike learns that he might just actually like Elvis Costello.

A clip of the Beastie Boys with Elvis Costello: HERE
Elvis Costello on SNL in 1977: HERE

Kathi’s new online course “Social Media for Car Sales Masterclass” is LIVE - you can sign up HERE. Use the promo code VIP20 to get 20% off. Got questions? Email [email protected] or message me on social media.

Get in touch with us!

Kathi: [email protected]

Mike: [email protected]

And don’t forget to download Kathi’s FREE Guide to Social Media for Car Salespeople here 👉 https://bit.ly/socialsellingvip