For decades, the motto of the automotive industry has been one of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Then we were hit by the pandemic and the industry had to adapt in a major way in order to survive. The result of this was dealers were forced to create a digital retail process. This also meant salespeople had to change how they operate on a daily basis and adapt to this new digital retail environment. For senior salespeople, the idea of embracing an online presence and developing a personal brand may sound laughable, but it’s the direction the industry is heading. In this article, we’re going to talk about four things salespeople should do to become top sales producers.

1. Develop a Personal Brand 

Developing a personal is simple and means finding a way to promote yourself. It gives you an opportunity to show customers who you are, what you specialize in and how you can help people get the perfect vehicle for their needs. Developing a personal brand will make people feel like they know you before they’ve even met you. People tend to have more trust in people they feel that they know. 

One important thing to remember when building a personal brand is to not just focus on selling. It’s about identifying your target market and how you can help them choose a vehicle that’s right for them. Once you’re able to identify who you are and what you have to offer, your customers will have an easier time feeling comfortable with reaching out to you.

2. Get on Social Media

A giant part of building a personal brand is using social media to get your message out. If you’re not particularly social media savvy, start with one or two platforms. It’s best to use social media you think your demographic is most likely using. For example, if you’re demographic is mostly people in their late 30’s, you could probably start with Facebook and Instagram over apps like TikTok.

Once you have your accounts up and running, it’s important to post regularly and it doesn’t need to be anything specific. Making posts that are informative, interesting, funny and thought-provoking are all great ways to create engagement with your audience. It’s important to demonstrate your knowledge of everything automotive on social media so your audience sees that you are truly an expert in your profession. Doing posts on vehicle features, financing/leasing tips, service/maintenance tips and more are all great ways to build an audience that trusts your knowledge. 

If you’re a younger car salesperson with a younger target demographic, getting on TikTok would be a great move. Very few dealerships currently leverage TikTok so the opportunity to grow is huge. 

3. Get Comfortable Being on Video

This is an obstacle that many people struggle with, like public speaking, most people don’t enjoy being on video. They don’t know where to look, they struggle to come off as genuine due to nerves and they don’t know what to do with their hands. Unfortunately, if you come off as disingenuous or low energy because of nerves, it's easy for a customer watching to make a negative assumption about you. This is why before you start posting videos of yourself it’s important to practice and show videos to your team before posting. Get feedback from your team and make sure they don’t sugarcoat it. Work on the things you struggle with and continue to record videos until you and your co-workers feel that you’re thriving with your video recordings. 

4. Leverage Technology (AVA Credit, Trade)

As the automotive industry continues to head in an ever more digital direction, the growth in available technology expands with it. For example, having AVA Credit on your website that allows your customers to get their free Equifax credit score without impacting their credit score is a great way to increase customer engagement. Also having a CRM that works with other third-party software can make organization much easier. There are so many pieces of technology that your dealership can leverage to increase revenue, try a bunch and see what works best for you.