Tag: Tom Hampton

To buy or not to buy…

Posted on | by Tom Hampton Agency

April showers bring may flowers, but this year’s February freezes brought us auction squeezes! We are seeing prices are far above normal tax-time hikes, with no signs of tapering off. Playing the usual Price Game is the surest way to the poor house in our current market!

 

How are the new car dealerships holding on to high mileage trades and still getting their money for those units? Trust, transparency, and a supply-and-demand mentality! With less inventory on hand, we know that that means every unit we already have needs to get adjusted for retail. Time to re-appraise all your current inventory and start looking at replacement cost / availability.

Trust and Transparency are a symbiotic relationship. The more transparent you become in all your processes and procedures; the more trust is built along the way. Make sure your website is easy to navigate and all your policies and procedures are outlined in detail. Finance options/information should be easy to understand and access and make darn sure it is all secure!

There has been so much success in providing customers with an online credit application. Financing and an approved loan amount first, vehicle second, then delivery in minutes (not hours!) Knowledge of one’s financial abilities in any type of purchase is empowering and removes a lot of fear from the entire process! For us, it removes having to show them 20 different cars, only to find out 3 hours later, they can’t even afford the porters ’98 hooptie!

Find your technique to symbiotically build Trust and Transparency in today’s marketplace and on your website. Remember my friends. Without us, the independent used car dealer – most Americans would be walking! The better you serve your prospects, the greater your client base becomes.

Create-A-Great-Day

Tom

TCPA Violations can cost you BIG!

Posted on | by Tom Hampton Agency

By Tom Hampton

TRUE fact, 95% of texts are read in 90 seconds or less after you send it. Texting is unquestionably an integral tool to engage consumers in 2020, HOWEVER, it is not without extensive legal and regulatory risks.

In order to survive and thrive, businesses must be mindful and play by the rules set forth by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, known as the TCPA founded in 1991. Car dealerships directly put their business at legal and financial risk each time they text, be it to correspond with a lead, with a customer, for collections, or sending inventory pics…the list goes on! TCPA penalties START at $500 and can go up to $1500 per text sent.

Example:

A customer submits a complaint that 5 texts were sent to without their permission. At a minimum, fees will start at $2,500, likely much more, as well as setting the way to a full investigation looking for compliance violations, often adding more fines.

How can the average dealer keep track of all the texts sent by the entire team, on top of the 5,000 other things they are currently doing? The solution is very simple and so cost effective it is scary! For less than one average auction fee and no long-term contracts, you are covered-7-ways-to-Sunday, 24/7/365.

Just like having a DMS to keep all your paperwork records and compliance, this is also a tool to keep your texting compliant! Did I mention that with this service, you see it all! No more guessing what your employees are texting to prospects, customers, or account holders! No more getting blind-sided by customers who say…’your salesman told me if I did this…. then y’all would do that for me!’

SOLUTIONS are what we do at Car Guys Agency. Effective, affordable solutions for your dealership. Give me a call or visit www.carguysagency.com

5 Effective Ways to Get More out of Your Website

Posted on | by Tom Hampton Agency
Blue Grey Photo Fitness Blog Graphic

By Tom Hampton             

November is upon us my friends! And shortly, so will be the end of 2020. Can anyone honestly say they will be sorry to see the year go? Actually, I can. 2020 has been the BEST year we have seen in the car business for almost 100 years! The playing field got leveled. Not only did the game change, but so did the rules we used to play by!  

Customers have raised the bar on us at least 10 times in just 7 short months. Test drives became delivered, financing went remote, texting and emails going ballistic overnight. The retailers of the world had to re-invent almost every process in their business to survive and start to grow again as the term in-person became obsolete.  

Which brings us to the topic at hand: Your website. Let’s explore 5 foundational tools your website should offer consumers to be truly impressive!  

1. Ease of navigation 

You do not have to spend a lot of money to have a website that navigates easily. Think about why customers are on your site. What are they looking to learn? They want to see specific vehicles and prices, finance options, reviews, and what steps they need to start the process. Can your customer easily contact you with questions? Each area should be easily identified and navigated to easily! This goes double for your mobile platform, especially as research shows nearly 60% of shoppers are on their devices.  

2. Clear/concise information 

It is really important that your customer can get all the facts from the information you present on your website. Are your photos accurate, good quality, and loading quickly? Is there a condition report posted with each vehicle? Eighty percent of consumers research a product online before purchasing. Providing your customers with both quantity and quality sources of information to make an informed purchase will give your website the advantage over your competitors. It can also really helpful to add a chat box to your website for customer who have questions and want immediate answers from available staff.  

3. Your values 

The values you and your team bring to the used car industry support the vision of your company.  Why should a stranger buy from you? What makes your company stand out? Let your customers know who you and your team are by including short bios, corporate goals and credos, and a commitment to providing an honest, satisfactory experience. Make sure there is a page for feedback from customers. This not only lets your customer feel heard, but also helps you improve the buying experience for future customers.  

4. Easy/Secure access to financing with payment calculator 

The major point to be made here is your customer must become a part of the process and not the subject. Your financing process should be clear, easy to follow, and the steps and required documentation listed. If you aren’t doing your own financing, let your customer know who you do use, with information about their process.   

Consumers nowadays want information about pricing and payments before they take the next step of speaking with a salesman. If you are using WordPress, search for a simple payment calculator plugin to add to your site, so customers can get an idea of what they will be paying.  

5. Transparency  

Transparency boils down to one underlying point…trust. In 2018, The Transparency Imperative Report found that 75% of consumers are more likely to switch to a brand that provided more in-depth product information. The same truth applies today, both to the vehicles you sell and the experience you and your team deliver.  

To conclude, invest the time for a thorough website evaluation. Remember that what you perceive as a value, may not impress your patrons. It is good practice to ask other team members and friends to also evaluate your site periodically and provide feedback of their thoughts and experience. If you are interested in taking your website to the next level, contact us for more information on Auto-Pilot Advertising!  

Create-A-Great-Future…only you can! 

Tom Hampton 

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Re-Birth of an Industry.

Posted on | by Tom Hampton Agency

Honestly, my friends, I did not think that I would live to see the rebirth/reinvention of the used car industry. 

My grandfather was around for its birth, my father for its heyday, and I for the rapid evolution of vehicles. The here and now, we are seeing changes we never could have anticipated, and they won’t stop there.   

In my father’s day, the salesman did it all; Desk the deal, underwrite the paper, go back and get the car made ready, then deliver it. 

Well, it kind of looks like it is 1965 again as our salespeople are granted more independence   from the desk. Our salespeople are taking more initiative to generate their own book of business as they learn to become professionals in all that they do. 

That fact in mind, what are you, the owner, doing to educate/train/inform/practice with your crew? Have you sat down with each one and done a little dream building? 

Do YOU know what your salespeople’s individual strengths are? Do YOU know what motivates them (besides $$$$)? Have you asked them for their ideas on how to improve any or all areas of the business? The way things (business) were run 6 months ago is just that…the past. A way of business we WILL NOT going back to doing. 

Getting that fact into your business model and adjusting actions accordingly is the key to PROSPERING instead of surviving the exponential changes we are all experiencing. Customers LIKE the personal service this crisis has forced dealers into. Customers like the fact of no F&I Dept process to suffer through. Customers like the test drive coming to them and the virtual test drive videos dealers are doing for every unit in stock. Customers like having the perception of having the upper–hand throughout the entire sales/delivery process. 

Customers LOVE the fact that salespeople are having conversations with them and ***MAGIC WORD*** LISTENING to them! Customers are getting what they always have wanted and feared the most…control. 

IF IT SELLS CARS – THE CUSTOMERS MAY HAVE AS MUCH CONTROL AS THEY FEEL THEY NEED. So, WHAT are you doing about that? 

How are you fostering/nurturing those relationships to ease control into the customers hand? How are you making your customer feel more a part of the process and not feel as if they are BEING processed? These are some very serious things to think upon my friends. 

Being in communication with friends/clients in the industry in all corners of this great country has painted a very clear picture of what the smart dealer is doing. They are buckling down and getting it done. In this unprecedented season of reinvention and rebirth, LET your customers, salespeople, bankers, friends, associates, and all others help you, reshape your future. 

If you do not know what your customer wants (expects) then how can you meet those wants/needs/desires? My advice, grab a notebook and pen, have a Zoom meeting with your team, and brainstorm your tails off!  

Now, more than ever, the game of “what if” can be your best tool to grow with the curve of change and not get crushed under it. 

Create A Great Day, 

Tom Hampton  

A KEY TO PROSPERING DURING COVID-19

Posted on | by Tom Hampton Agency

Weeks of continuous communication across the nation and across the industry has allowed me to put a few tick-marks under some points on my TALLY sheet! 

These conversations are all the same: 

  • HOW are you (the owner) Re-Inventing in all areas (personal/business)?  
  • WHO are you collaborating with (friend & foe)? 
  • WHICH areas would you recommend an immediate change in? 
  • WHAT communities are you a RESOURCE for and which communities are a resource for YOU? 
  • WHERE would you concentrate MORE effort into and why? 

The conversations have lasted from 10 minutes up to 4 hours! The answers have been insightful, inventive, original and most of all … full of HOPE! 

The point on my tally sheet that got the most tick-marks? 

A REFERRAL PROGRAM!    

Using Texts, Calls, Emails, and/or Video Chats. All have been fruitful. Integrating your referral program into your Social Media is PARAMOUNT to prospering. 

That being said, 

HOW is your referral program? Old School Simple to the rescue! It is very simple, very effective, and no complications necessary! It also provides a very powerful income stream to your previous customer (scared & financially insecure)! 

A Simple Referral Program example: 

You (previous customer) notify me (the owner) that someone (referred friend/family) is coming to do business with me. I (the owner) roll out the covid-19 sanitized Red Carpet for the client (referred friend/family). When the referred potential customer (referred friend/family) does business with me then You (the previous customer) that referred the new customer will receive a pre-determined MONITARY amount!  

Example:  

I sell used cars, you bought one from me 2 years ago. You got my Rewards Program email and are in need of extra bucks during this crisis. So, you tell every Tom, Dick & Henrietta to see me if they need a car! 

Bingo! Now I (the dealer/business owner) have an ARMY of salespeople giving the BEST kind of recommendation on the planet – Free positive advertising via word of mouth! 

****Note: Be sure the reward paid out is fair and intriguing enough.  

In the previous example that dealer would have started his referral fee at about $250 and climbed up to a preset limit. Think about it; Previous customer sends a buddy that buys a $25,000 truck – caution if paying out a $100, that customer will never send YOU (Mr. Dealer or Mr. Business owner) another referral.  

On the other hand, if you own a carpet cleaning business and you do the whole JOB for $250, then that referral may look like a nice Thank You card and a $20 gift card (about 10% of the job). 

It is all relative, however, the KEY is the referral program. There you have a little nugget, that if worked properly, may well be you/your companies’ lifeline for a while. At the very least, it will be fun adventure! 

Remember. If you don’t CREATE your future, then your future WILL create you! 

Create-A-Great-Day, 

Tom