(Originally published on Dealer magazine)
Yesterday, I got to attend the NBA Playoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks with 2 friends and I credit it all to a Facebook check-in. I was planning on attending the game anyways, however, while browsing my Facebook news feed, I noticed a friend who doesn’t live in my area had checked into Los Angeles airport. I didn’t know he was coming into the area. I reached out to them and within an hour we had made plans to attend the game together. Without that check-in, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to attend the game with some industry friends.
As I thought of this, I thought of one of the first things we teach all new salespeople. Tell everyone you know or meet that you sell cars. When I was in retail, there was nothing more frustrating than finding out after the fact that someone I knew had bought a vehicle somewhere else…especially if they bought the same brand I was selling. I also didn’t want to be “in your face” with everyone by yelling “Hey, I sell cars” everywhere I went. What better way to tell people you know that you sell cars in a passive, non-aggressive manner than to “check-in” at your dealership on a daily basis.
By doing this, you can leverage the check-in to inform your social network and keep it fresh in their minds that you sell cars. By doing this one simple thing, I guarantee that when it comes time to buy a car, they’ll know that you sell them.
