Beyond The First Pencil

How prolific are you when it comes to knowing the best route to take for social media? Sadly, many people flounder or completely miss the mark because they’ve not begun at the beginning. Their lack of social media strategy hands over the advantage to competitors.

This week, Kathi and Mike talk about all the ways to be better (great?) at social media if you make a strategy for yourself. 

Music segment: we each pick one of our most memorable club experiences from the 80s…and give all the details!

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

Lots of talk about electric vehicles happening right now. Kathi and Mike discuss Tesla’s safety concerns after the release of a New York Times documentary on the dangers of self-driving technology.

We’re excited to see what’s coming from legacy auto manufacturers with EVs. As former retail peeps, we’re also curious how an EV sales operations model looks from a dealer’s point of view.

Check out this Daily Beast article with links to the “Elon Musk Crash Course” Doc on Hulu HERE. We highly recommend it!

One the music front:
More info about Yaz/Yazoo HERE
Check out the amazing video of Alison Moyet singing at the Burberry show 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

The past few years have seen a lot of changes in the car business. From consumer preferences driving operations shifts to new business models to sell cars and data-driven advertising strategies to target car buyers. 

The larger companies are contributing to the shift too, example: big names have pulled out of this year’s SEMA Show. 

Digital data privacy laws and regulation are coming to the forefront and the two big players in digital advertising - Google and Facebook - are feeling it. 

What does this mean for auto retailers? It’s going to get tougher to track people online.

In our music session:

Here’s a post about So Cal’s MV3 hosted by Richard Blade.

Here’s a MV3 spotify playlist.

Check out The Jam - Bingley Hall 1982 concert HERE.

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

Anyone who uses social media knows that it can be a minefield. In a world where everything we say and do is cataloged, wouldn’t you agree it’s crucial to pay close attention to what you say and do online?

This week, Kathi and Mike talk about why it’s so important to think before you post. Comment sections, posts, video - all the places you participate - are being scrutinized by potential customers. It’s crucial to have a game plan.

We also talk (rant?) about the sunsetting of the Google My Business app and what it means for all users. Hint: the numbers coming out of GMB profiles have dropped considerably, this after Google strong-armed each of us into focusing on promoting GMB just a few short years ago.

In a quick music section, we talk about one of our fave bands, Sparks - and brothers, Ron and Russell Mael. 

Check out Sparks’ “Moustache” video (caution: you may feel like dancing).

Check out “The Sparks Brothers” documentary HERE.

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

We’ve talked a lot about video use in so many different ways to sell cars. This week, Kathi and Mike welcome Michael Sampson. He’s Director of Sales at MinMax video enablement app for making branded videos. 

As automotive retail continues to shift, driven by customer shopping and buying preferences, video is a way to stand out. We explore interesting ideas, tactics and processes that will help your store beat the competition.

In our music segment:

Watch The Style Council “Walls Come Tumbling Down” at LiveAid: HERE

Watch the documentary “Industrial Accident: The Story of WaxTrax! Records: HERE

Michael Sampson’s contact info:

Email: [email protected]

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

With inventory being scarce and supply chain delays still a challenge, we’ve all been witnessing dealer markups. Market conditions often warrant markups but in some cases, the markups seem extreme. Either way, this practice is nothing good for the dealer body’s reputation - all you have to do is look at the comments when someone posts about their experience.

Kathi and Mike talk about the fact that some customers who bought their vehicles at markup prices are going to be buried in their vehicles. This means they won’t be getting out of those vehicles into new/newer vehicles any time soon. But it also means that they’ll need to service their vehicle for longer and that is an opportunity for Fixed Ops.

Speaking of opportunities, using video when communicating with customers is so HOT right now! Mike and Kathi talk about video tactics that salespeople, service advisors and other customer-facing employees can take to increase their visibility and foster loyalty.

On the music front…

Mike mentioned watching Anton Corbijn’s film “Control” about Joy Division. HERE is the link.

Kathi mentioned the Ben Fong Torres doc, “Like a Rolling Stone.” HERE is the link.

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

Today’s car sales professionals are finding themselves in this new environment called digital retail. While there are tools to help facilitate online transactions, many salespeople are interested in growing their own network to develop their future sales pipeline. 

Using social media to establish relationships BEFORE customers are ready to buy is a key component of digital retail. If salespeople are waiting to meet the customer on the lot, it’s often too late because that customer has already established a connection with someone else.

Kathi and Mike discuss strategies and tactics for car sales professionals, and productivity techniques for management, on using technology to sell more cars.

On music, we discuss the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Inductees!

Check out Pivot podcast: HERE

Check out Something Was Wrong podcast: HERE

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

Having employees with strong personal brands in your company is an opportunity, not a threat.

As dealership operations are being forced to change and adapt to today’s customer preferences, dealership employees are an asset that’s just beginning to be recognized. 

Employees have firsthand experience with the retailers they work for because they live and breathe it every day, and they have in-depth knowledge that an average consumer does not. 

Combined with an ability to present the organization through their own personal styles and stories, the content that employees can produce and the relationships they can build could exceed those delivered by "professional" influencers. 

But all of this can be a very tricky endeavor so Kathi, Mike and Nathan share their insights on how to navigate this new, lucrative opportunity that’s pulling dealers further into the digital retailing environment by increasing their salespeople’s digital fluency.

A very warm welcome to our FIRST guest, Nathan Greenberg! You can reach him here:

Nathan Greenberg, CEO
www.Arkside.com
4200 Latham Street, Suite A
Riverside, CA 92501
Office: 951.579.4121
Promo Shop: arkside.shop
Nathan’s video (from 4 years ago!) that’s still relevant: Mammals don’t ask dinosaurs about survival

Our music topics this week:

Check out this very arty piece, Martini Ranch, “Reach” 

Check out: The Specials with Amy Winehouse 

More of The Specials:

A Message to You Rudy

Ghost Town

Rat Race 

30th Anniversary Tour

And this very special Belgian television show performance from 1979 

A deep dive into the origins of House of the Rising Sun (including The Animals’ version to listen to)

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, Kathi and Mike talk through the events that may cause the great automotive dinosaur extinction. We aren’t holding our breath on that, but we’ve never really been this close.

In the music dept, we chat about our top three favorite nights at The Roxy (on the Sunset Strip, next to The Rainbow Bar & Grill - which has the most delicious food!).

Link to “The Dee Gees” (aka: foo fighters): “Shadow Dancing”

Link to the original Andy Gibb version.

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 discuss the latest used car financing offers and what they mean for the future business of retailers. The short term actions that are taken that adversely affect future business.

We also cover the benefits of salespeople utilizing their downtime to learn more about using social media to sell cars. There’s such an opportunity.

In our music segment, we discovered a new band! You can listen to this one song from The Mysterines HERE. If you like it, there are lots more!

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