Embracing Social Selling as a Sales Manager: Overcoming Challenges and Unlocking Potential (PART ONE)

Hey, you know that thing your kids are always staring at? Social media? Well, what if I told you it could actually help you sell more cars? I know, I know, using social media to sell stuff? That's crazy talk!

You: “But I thought it was just for posting memes and arguing with strangers!"

Turns out, it might actually be useful for something other than making us feel bad about our life choices. Can you imagine? Your sales team scrolling through Facebook and actually making money? It's like finding out eating pizza could help you lose weight. "Wait, can it?" No, no it can't. But social media selling cars? That might actually work. Are you intrigued?

What is social selling?

Social selling is a sales technique that allows salespeople to laser-target their prospecting to establish rapport with existing connections in order to develop their own leads and sales on social media and other online platforms.

Automotive digital retailing is transforming how car dealers sell vehicles. The merging of online tools, including social media, with traditional in-person customer experience provides the transparency that today's car buyers demand.

Overseeing a sales team that incorporates social media presents significant challenges. Some retailers are open to adopting this approach but struggle with effective leadership in this new landscape. What I’ve witnessed most often is they underestimate the support and guidance required to successfully integrate social media into their lead handling and sales processes.

To maximize its potential, sales managers need a comprehensive strategy that coordinates team efforts, enhances customer relationships, and aligns social media use with overall communication goals.

Social selling complements the new (old) normal

Integrating social selling into traditional dealership sales operations poses a significant challenge for most sales directors and managers. This difficulty stems from several factors:

• Varied social media proficiency among team members
• Sales managers' own inexperience with social selling
• Skepticism about the value of social media for selling cars

To successfully transform a sales team into social selling champions, it's crucial to introduce techniques that enhance rather than disrupt the existing sales process.

Currently, many in auto retail—from directors to individual salespeople—remain content with traditional methods. However, market conditions have shifted dramatically since just last year:

• Previously: Pandemic-induced inventory shortages led to higher prices, benefiting dealers.
• Result: This success bred complacency in many dealerships.
• Current situation: As inventories normalize and are growing, this complacent mindset becomes increasingly risky. Especially with flooring interest at double or triple what dealers were paying a few short years ago.

The contrast between recent abnormal market conditions and the present reality is stark:

• Recent past: Simply having inventory was enough to drive sales.
• Present: The market has returned to a more competitive "survival-of-the-fittest" environment.

In this new landscape, dealers must adapt their strategies to remain competitive, moving beyond the complacency induced by the unusual market conditions of the recent past. A sales team that is actively engaged on social media and/or creating valuable content complements and enhances the new (old) normal.

How can social media boost sales?

In my experience managing dealerships, I've observed two distinct types of salespeople:

The Comfort Zone Group

• Content with minimal monthly income
• Resistant to change
• Prefer familiar routines, even if they're not optimal
• They much prefer the status quo and hang onto it like a bad relationship.

The Progressive Achievers

• A smaller, more ambitious group
• Constantly challenge the status quo
• Actively seek innovative sales techniques, embrace training
• Embrace technology to become market influencers
• Leverage new tools to enhance their sales performance

Consider this real-world example

Imagine this scenario at a large car dealership in Southern California:

The Opportunity: A sales manager identifies untapped potential in the local Hispanic market, often overlooked by competitors.

The Strategy: Develop targeted social media content to reach this underserved demographic.

The Challenge: The sales manager doesn't speak Spanish.

The Solution:

• Collaborate with a Spanish-speaking salesperson
• Create "conversational" Spanish content for social media
• Develop a video series to engage the Hispanic community online

This approach offers a win-win outcome:

• For the dealership: Access to a new customer base/market.
• For the salesperson: Potential for increased sales and market influence.

The key to success lies in the salesperson's willingness to actively engage with online customers and consistently produce relevant content.

Social selling to build cultural connections

The scenario described earlier isn't just hypothetical - it's backed by compelling data:

Key Statistic: 71% of Hispanics are more likely to view a brand favorably or purchase its products when the brand incorporates elements of their culture.

The salesperson, and by extension, the dealership, illustrates a cultural understanding. Knowing where they come from, showing genuine interest in their community, and recognizing what matters to them most are the first steps to proactive engagement with your Hispanic audience.

Cultural connections create lasting impressions and future sales

The salesperson's own cultural background adds authenticity to this approach. He knows that buying a new car is viewed as a major achievement and reason for celebration.

He begins building lasting relationships by celebrating his customers' achievements in buying their new cars with videos and photos on his social media. He develops a bond with them over these shared experiences which strengthens his relationship with them, their entire family and the Latino community as a whole.

This strategy goes beyond mere sales tactics. It creates a deeper, more meaningful relationship between the salesperson, the dealership, and the Hispanic community. By recognizing and celebrating cultural values, the salesperson becomes more than just a car dealer - they become a trusted member of the community.

Managing a team who is navigating the challenges of automotive social selling

Despite compelling evidence supporting social media as a powerful sales tool, its adoption in the automotive industry has faced significant resistance over the past decade plus. Consider this striking statistic:

Key Finding: 79% of salespeople who incorporate social media into their selling strategy outperform those who don't.

Yet, several obstacles persist:

1. Management Skepticism. Many leaders remain unconvinced of social media's value in selling cars (and service!)
2. Skill Gap. Many salespeople lack the necessary training or skills for effective social selling.
3. Lack of follow through. I have trained hundreds of teams and the one thing that stops an average car salesperson is self-motivation. Lack of follow through impedes with success.
4. Platform Saturation. Online platforms are becoming increasingly crowded, the algorithms are set to reward outrage and it’s difficult to get heard through all the noise.

However, those who have successfully embraced social selling consistently report that the investment of time and effort pays off significantly.

The key is developing a unique voice. To rise above the digital clamor and connect meaningfully with customers, salespeople must:

1. Cultivate an authentic, distinctive voice, while incorporating the dealership’s voice.
2. Consistently deliver helpful, educational, or entertaining content.
3. Engage genuinely with their audience.
4. Leverage their unique experiences and insights.
5. Learn how to ask for the appointment.

By focusing on these elements, automotive sales professionals can cut through the noise and establish a strong, recognizable presence on social media platforms.

Remember: In today's digital landscape, simply having a social media presence isn't enough. The real challenge - and opportunity - lies in making your voice heard amidst the cacophony of competing messages.

As a manager, you’d likely agree with me that your job is to provide the tools your team needs for success. In next month’s article, I will deliver what those tools are, specific management tactics to ensure success, and introduce some proven secrets to support your team’s social selling efforts. Join me, won’t you?