The Manager’s Guide to Tools, Tactics, and Social Selling Success (PART 2)

In part one of this two-part series for sales managers on embracing social selling and overcoming the obstacles with a sales team, I discussed some of the standout challenges and how to unlock potential. This month, part two is aimed at transforming your team into social selling ninjas. (Here is a link to part one if you haven’t read it yet).

A few years ago, I created an online course on social selling specifically for car salespeople. Through that experience, I discovered an important fact: most car salespeople, despite their skills in traditional sales, often lack the self-motivation needed to consistently engage in social selling practices. Without consistent encouragement and leadership from a manager, their chances of success in social selling decrease significantly.

Strong managerial support is essential in driving motivation and performance.

The challenge, both then and now, is that many sales managers lack familiarity with social selling. In fact, some still see social media as a distraction and discourage its use in the workplace. But what if I told you it could be a powerful tool to generate more appointments? Would you be interested in learning more about how it can boost sales?

This is why I wanted to write this two-part series—to help sales managers understand the potential of social media in selling cars and to inspire them to introduce, encourage, and motivate their teams to integrate it into their sales process.

The Role of Social Selling in the Sales Process

It's crucial to understand the proper place of social selling in your overall sales process.

• Complementary Tool: Social selling does not replace the traditional sales process. Instead, it serves as a powerful complementary tool.
• Pre-Sales Enhancement: Use social selling primarily before the traditional sales process begins. It's a way to set the stage for successful in-person or direct sales interactions.
• Building Online Presence: The main goals of social selling are to:
  • Enhance the salesperson's online reputation
  • Boost the dealership's credibility
  • Demonstrate trustworthiness to potential customers
• Competitive Advantage: Effective social selling provides a compelling reason for customers to choose your dealership over competitors. It differentiates your salespeople in a crowded market.
• Foundation for Relationships: By establishing trust and credibility online, social selling creates a solid foundation for building strong customer relationships during the traditional sales process.

Remember, social selling is about creating value and building relationships before the sale, setting the stage for more effective traditional sales techniques when you engage with the customer directly.

The Challenge for Dealership Sales Managers

Many car salespeople lack the self-motivation and follow-through when it comes to social selling. This is due to several factors:

• Traditional mindset preferring immediate, in-person interactions
• Resistance to change and new technologies
• Frustration with inconsistent or delayed results
• Difficulty balancing daily sales activities with social media engagement

To overcome these obstacles, sales managers can implement structured training programs, set clear goals with measurable metrics, align incentives to reward long-term relationship building, and provide ongoing support through mentorship and user-friendly tools.

By fostering a culture that values digital engagement and gradually introducing social selling tasks, managers can help their sales team develop the motivation and follow-through necessary to leverage social media effectively, ultimately leading to improved long-term sales performance.

Overcoming Obstacles

1. Structured Training Programs

• Implement comprehensive training on social selling techniques
• Provide ongoing support and education

2. Goal Setting and Metrics

• Establish clear, achievable goals for social selling activities
• Use metrics to track progress (e.g., engagement rates, lead generation)

3. Incentive Alignment

• Adjust compensation to reward long-term relationship building
• Recognize and celebrate social selling successes

4. Time Management

• Help salespeople allocate specific time for social selling
• Integrate social selling into daily routines

5. Mentorship Programs

• Pair less motivated salespeople with successful social sellers
• Use peer success stories for inspiration

6. Technology Integration

• Implement user-friendly tools to streamline processes
• Use automation where appropriate

7. Content Support

• Provide pre-approved, shareable content
• Encourage personal touches for authenticity

8. Regular Check-ins

• Schedule frequent one-on-one meetings
• Reinforce the importance of follow-through

9. Cultural Shift

• Foster a dealership culture that values digital engagement
• Lead by example, with management actively participating

10. Gradual Implementation

• Start with small, manageable social selling tasks
• Gradually increase complexity as confidence builds

By addressing motivational challenges and implementing supportive tactics, managers can help their salespeople overcome hurdles in social selling and ultimately get more appointments..

Let’s explore ways to lead to a more engaged, digitally savvy sales team capable of leveraging social media for long-term success.

5 Secrets to Turn a Sales Team Into Automotive Social Selling Ninjas

1. Identify and Encourage Your Self-Made Influencers

Are your salespeople simply going through the motions, or are they actively building relationships online? Today’s successful sales managers recognize and support team members who infuse their unique personality into the customer’s shopping experience.

A social media influencer is a person who has the power to affect another person’s buying decision based on their online presence and their interactions with their followers. They have this effect on people because of their knowledge, life skills, or experience in a particular niche, such as car sales.

How to identify self-made influencers on your team:

• They have complete, professional social profiles, including a well-crafted bio.
• They actively engage with their followers and build friendly relationships.
• They regularly post valuable, informative content that keeps them connected with prospects and customers.
• They create video testimonials with satisfied customers after a sale.
• They personally greet clients during every visit to the service department.
• Customers who know them from social media come into the store asking for them by name.
• They’re frequently mentioned in positive 4- or 5-star reviews.
• They skillfully build rapport with leads and move the sale forward.

Self-made influencers view themselves as marketers of their personal brand. Communicating their unique value (and the dealership's credibility) provides that little extra that helps them stand out.

These influencers understand that building connections and engaging prospects at each stage of the car-buying journey positions them as trusted advisors when it’s time to buy.

2. Reward Tenacity and Accomplishments

Networking is critical to sales success, both online and offline. In automotive social selling, networking is the foundation. Smart sales managers hire social-savvy salespeople who bring an established network with them. A successful network allows salespeople to rely on trusted referrals wherever they go, and managers should reward team members who excel in building and maintaining these connections.

Showcasing expertise is a powerful way to stand out online (just ask Tim Bartz #FordVideoGuy). Connecting with prospects or customers on social media is just the first step—keeping them engaged is what really counts. The key is consistently proving that you’re a trusted and reliable resource.

Sales managers can encourage this by offering monthly rewards for the best post-sale testimonial video or visual proof of exceptional customer experiences. Sharing this kind of content on social media not only boosts credibility but also strengthens rapport with potential buyers.

3. Evaluate Online Influence

A salesperson’s online reputation can directly influence a customer’s decision. For example, a friend of mine recently purchased a vehicle solely based on the salesperson’s stellar reviews on Yelp and Google.

To assess your team’s online influence, start by having each salesperson Google themselves. This simple step shows what potential customers will see, whether positive or negative. It's essential for both you and your team to understand their online presence.

If little to no information appears, it's a great opportunity for improvement. In today’s market, no salesperson should be invisible online—customers expect to find proof of successful salespeople through reviews and social profiles.

Social media and online reviews are the most common ways customers find salespeople. If you haven’t already, implement an internal process to capture the opinions of satisfied customers. Teach your team the importance of these reviews and how they can impact buyers’ decisions. A positive mention in a review can be the key to winning a sale.

Recognize team members who receive positive mentions in reviews, and use any negative feedback as a learning tool in training sessions to help the team grow.

4. Implement a Social Media Policy for Employees

If there’s one constant in social media, it’s change. All this change means dealers should regularly assess and realign their policy on employee social media use. Many managers and team members feel uncertain about social media use, and a clear policy can provide peace of mind for everyone involved.

Does your dealership have a written social media policy for employees? If so, how often do you review it? If it's been more than six months, it's time for an update. Don’t rely solely on your legal counsel to handle it—they focus on protecting the dealership but may overlook important content guidelines or practical tips to encourage effective social media use in everyday sales situations.

The pandemic transformed how consumers buy cars and how dealerships deliver them. With employees more active online than ever, it's essential to ensure that all promises made online are accurate and legally sound. A social media policy gives employees clear guidelines and protocols, helping them navigate social interactions more effectively and responsibly.

It’s safe to say that your digital reputation is more at risk now that we’ve adopted more digital retail protocols. If you don’t have an employee social media policy, now would be an excellent time to implement one.

5. Check in During Sales Meetings

In every sales meeting, managers review current sales performance and set goals for the week and/or month. As a sales manager, your ability to motivate the team to achieve these targets is crucial to your success.

Incorporating social selling results into these meetings helps keep it top of mind for your team. Regular follow-ups ensure accountability and highlight progress in key areas such as:

• Team members mentioned in 4- or 5-star reviews
• Outstanding content that received significant attention (for the right reasons)
• Growth in social media presence and notable connections
• Recognition for attending trainings or presentations (online and offline)
• Prospects in the pipeline
• Appointment setting: Leads transitioning from social media to in-store visits
• Sales generated through social selling efforts

Using weekly check-ins during sales meetings creates an opportunity to "gamify" your goals. Several of our clients have implemented incentive programs that reward the best testimonials and/or mentions in 4/5 star online reviews, further motivating the team. One client has grown their Google reviews from 168 to 1,235 by implementing a spiff program for salespeople.

The growing importance of social selling

Recent trends highlight the increasing significance of social selling in the automotive retail:

1. I recently conducted an informal survey of dealership salespeople and training directors which revealed that social media skills are the most desired learning area in today's digital retail environment.
2. While some car sales professionals have successfully built lucrative social profiles, the majority (over 90%) still lag behind in this crucial skill.
3. Consumers prefer to do business with salespeople who can provide evidence of trust and satisfaction from other customers.

By implementing the 5 secrets I’ve outlined above, you'll ensure that once prospects enter your sales pipeline, they'll feel confident they've made the right choice in selecting your dealership and salesperson.

In today’s digital-first retail, selling to hyper-connected customers, a strong social selling strategy isn't just another thing to do. It’s a unique advantage that can edge out the competition and often win the sale.