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How to buy a car…. the easy way September 9, 2008

Posted by bakersfieldcarguy in CAR BUYING.
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So you’ve found the car of your dreams…. Now just go in and buy it.

If it were only that easy!?!?

 

Now I’ve been doing this for about 5 years now and I can honestly say that if it’s done the right way, you’ll be able to:

*Get the car of your dreams

*Get it at a great price

*Have a wonderful haggle free experience

That being said it does take some work, but not much. You know the saying “the early bird gets the worm”? Well same type of concept. You see being that I am an Internet Sales Manager I am able to speak with a customer and even work a portion of the deal before the customer even has to step foot on the lot. The early bird is taking the time to research and find the right person to talk to (which is me). The person that walks on to the lot without researching is in no position to effectively negotiate a deal because they don’t know all of the facts. Now granted, working a deal via phone and e-mail is not the most effective way for me to be able to make extra money (gross profit) but in the long run it pays off 10 fold because I have a customer that will come back again and again and refer all of their friends and family because of the wonderful experience that they had and the great price that they got. 

What is a good deal? A good deal is a state of mind; that’s it. If I get a toothbrush buy one get one free but I pay almost double what the first one is worth, is that really a good deal? Well if I don’t know any better, it is. It is very easy to know whether or not you are getting a good deal on a car because of all of the online resources you have like edmunds.com, Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com), NADA and so on. 

The invoice price is the “real” invoice. I can’t tell you how many times salespeople have been accused of showing someone a “fake” or “made up” invoice. I will tell you that there is a very, very small amount of money usually paid to the dealer by the manufacturer after the vehicle is sold, this is usually called the “hold back” and the main purpose of that money is to help the dealer recover the costs of flooring, detailing, maintaining, and all of the other costs of doing business that a dealership incurs. If there are any other incentives that the dealer is receiving then that would typically be available information from the aforementioned online resources.

 

Please never loose sight of the fact that an automobile dealership is in the business of making a profit (not a dirty word) and a one sided deal in favor of one party or the other is NOT a fair deal. We don’t want dealers to begin skimping on important services provided to the customers due to slim profit margins. Lets all be fair here. Almost everyone can relate to what I’m saying here whether you own a business or work for one. Nobody likes a mooch!

Fishing! September 15, 2008

Posted by bakersfieldcarguy in Fishing, Recreation.
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I have to tell everyone about my fishing trip this weekend….

Yes! I am a fisherman. I’m quite the city boy but being that I live in Bakersfield; I get out of town at every opportunity. This weekend I happened to go with my to fishin’ buddies Jim and Pat. Both excellent fishermen themselves and a blast to hang out with. Jim has a vacation house in Lake Isabella (no that’s not why he is my friend!!!). We headed up Saturday night so that we could get an early start the next morning. Other than having to kill 5-6 Black Widows when we first arrived, I was stoked to be there in the mountains. The air is fresh and clean, the stars are bright, no girlfriend to nag (thinking out loud again, whoops!).

Getting up in the morning wasn’t to difficult of a task, we grabbed some doughnuts and headed up river. Jim’s been fishing the Kern River for decades so I had the best guide around. Despite the crowded river banks Jim was able to take us to some secluded spots and sure enough he was on the money. We ended up with 10 fish by 2:30 and called it a day! We headed back to the Lake House, cleaned the fish, cleaned ourselves (very, very important), cleaned the house and headed back down the hill. I love the drive in my G35!

After having some great, fresh trout for dinner and definitley feeling the sunburn  on my face and neck, I’m asking myself was it relaxing or exhausting? People always associate fishing with a relaxing activity, one that is uneventful and mostly a waiting game. It’s a little bit different on the river. For one; every time you catch a few at any given spot,  it’s time to move down river to a different hole. Furthermore the difficult hike from the road to an acceptable spot on the bank is usually a task in itself. 

I guess the bottom line is I’m a little soar, tired, and sun-burned but I wouldn’t change it for the word. It’s amazing being out in nature and successfully (not gracefully, but successful none the less!) catching your dinner. Not to mention great company never hurts.

Thanks to Jim and Pat for a great weekend and I look forward to our next trip.

Where are your customers? September 10, 2008

Posted by bakersfieldcarguy in Auto Internet Marketing, Internet Marketing.
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Why market to 100% of the population when only a small percentage of people are looking for you or the services you offer? 

Lets take a look at a generally accepted marketing philosophy: The Sales Funnel (this one I made to be applied to the automotive sales market but the general idea applies to just about everything)


With the internet as a proven way for us to find customers that are actually in the market for what we offer, we have so much opportunity. Just think 10 years ago it was nearly impossible for us to market only to people that were in the market for a Toyota Camry. Now 86% of car shoppers do research online and all we have to do is set up a budget so that when someone googles (doesn’t everyone google?) Toyota Camry in our geo-targeted area our company shows in the sponsored results. How great is that? Then all we have to do is make sure that our web site provides all of the information that the customer is looking for, and is optimized with calls to action so that they convert into leads via form submissions or phone calls to 1-800 tracking numbers. Not only have we optimized our advertising dollar to target the qualified customer that we want, but we can track everything to see exactly what our ROI is.

Not to say that traditional media outlets (tv, radio, print, etc.) aren’t useful. Being that they reach a large portion of the population they are very useful for Branding. Branding is important but why spend more money on branding when the right message online will still gain you a qualified customer?