Carfolks.com wants everyone thinking about buying a car and visiting car dealer review sites to know:

Carfolks.com is the only car dealer proactive reputation management and auto dealer review site that offers every professional in the auto industry a chance to show that they walk the talk for free.
After all of this time, all of you searching the internet for a new car dealer or used car dealer reading this should understand; you need to ask your local car dealer if they are a Carfolks.com Member Dealer.

If not, why would they not even take the time to go and register to prove it for free? Now that there are so many sales professionals on Carfolks.com, those who have not joined just may be considered conspicuous by their absence.

Ask your local car dealer if they are a Carfolks.com Member Dealer and if they say no, ask them why.
It really is that simple. Now we will let the customers have the voice that the dealer refused to include because their skin is to thin or they practice bad sales habits that we all have come to know all too well in this industry.

It is time to introduce Carfolks.com to you, the customers, because we have given the dealers plenty of time to chase the shiny object in the water.
Of course, we thank and commend those who are professional enough to prove it and are already involved. For a list of Carfolks.com Member Dealer and Review listing go to http://www.carfolks.com

Kim Clouse | Executive Director

How Much Is Your Reputation Worth?

Shouldn’t Your Online Reputation Be Accurate?

For the last year I have watched all of the industry blogs, trade magazines and networks describing the best way to manage your reputation. If you Google car dealer reputation management the results are staggering. Pages and pages of different opinions on the appropriate way to make sure all of your good reviews show up. Then, there are the manipulation tricks to cherry pick and post only good reviews and appear in the top spots on search engines.

Uhmm, excuse me, but do we as automotive professionals  actually think that our prospective customers and previous customers are gullible enough to think we are telling the whole story? Especially if they have had problems at a particular car dealership and all that is available is customer testimonials explaining how great that car dealership is; I certainly hope not. Customers and prospects are much more comfortable seeing the bad along with the good and they also want to see what the dealer or the sales person did to fix it the issue.  That is one of the many areas addressed directly by Carfolks.com.

If your reputation is not important to you and you do not care about customers and prospects, then you need to leave the car business. You are part of the problem that makes us less popular than visiting the dentist. The professionals at automotive dealerships on the pavement and in the service and parts departments deserve to be recognized for their hard work.

They have thick skin and are not afraid to address their mistakes then take the proper steps to correct them. They would rather have the whole story displayed and yes, the customers that are just taking advantage of them need to be exposed as well. We all know they exist and can seriously damage an individual as well as a dealer’s reputation. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone yell foul on those individuals? Carfolks.com will do that too.

The main reason I started this crusade and made the decision to get involved with Carfolks.com is because everybody screams ” help the dealers” and we should. But more importantly, does it makes more sense to provide online tools for these professionals so it’s easier for customers to find them? Without employees and customers car dealers will not exist.

I have firsthand experience with being reviewed by an angry customer and after the dust settled it was funny how I got excellent marks in every category on Toyota’s survey. But after four years my customers’ negative review, where he called me a liar, is still coming up in various web searches fed by the posting at a certain dealer rating site. When I requested they remove my name from the title and leave the review as it stood I was told they would check into it. Funny, now that I am an owner of a company that competes with them, it is being indexed with changes made to it. Of course, I kept a copy of the original for my records.

Carfolks.com assists auto retail professionals, the customers and the dealer by letting the truth shine through. We will do our very best to give you the tools you need to show your good reputation and  automate your social media marketing efforts while allowing you to react with your various streams like you should. We have other features and functionality that you will learn about as we go, but pitching dealers’ snake oil is not part or the plan.

Kim Clouse
Executive Director

Carfolks.com 

Do you think Car Dealers should be aware of problems as they happen so they can be proactive? It seems to me that customers would prefer it that way. Yet with all of this buzz about Reputation Management  all I have heard or seen so far appears reactive. Go to Carfolks and have a look.
Then get to the blog  and discuss at what I like to call Proactive Reputation Management.

 Thoughts?

KC

  Carfolks would like to thank all of the car dealer professionals and their customers for the warm reception.
Automobile new car dealer and used car dealer staff  from every department are signing up daily.  Go to the Carfolks.com site and enroll. Make sure you write a short bio and state your position at the dealership. No best deal, best price, lowest price advertising is tolerated on Carfolks. Grass roots, real stuff about you, your family, what you do in the community, your hobbies anything. But mention rate, payments, invoice, dealer cash and you will get expelled from the site. No exceptions! Learn to use the internet to get personal with existing customers, their families and friends.

Carfolks.com gives all of you professional, retail automotive employees the right tools to assist in letting people know you sell cars or work in a car dealership. At Carfolks were working on reputation management when it was still called customer service. A lot of us on the pavement and in the trenches have never been able to be rewarded for the stuff we do right every day.
It all changes now!
Get to Carfolks.com and empower yourself; Or be conspicuous by your absence.

Kim Clouse
Managing Owner
Carfolks.com
I auto Consultants

Hello everyone,

I realize it has been a while since I have written anything longer than 200 or so characters without my thumbs. Really been off the radar for a bit, working on something I truly believe in. Something that I believe can provide our customers a fair representation of the true professionals in our industry. At every dealership, for all departments and employees Carfolks.com allows professional’s to shine and pretenders to flounder. It will let customers see us at our best and tell us when to improve keeping us sharp. And those responsible for keeping our industry in the toilet will want to finally go away. Our goal is to make everyone proud to say they work in the automotive industry.

According to most of the professionals reporting to all of us sales and dealer folks, just about all of our customers are online. The hard evidence is there every day at the dealership level, so we all really know it’s true. The part I love is “what I was taught” and “what I still teach;” Customer satisfaction and service go hand in hand and that is what builds a reputation.  Now, for us, “word of mouth” is really “immediate execution of thought” and it travels much further and quicker than ever before, instantly!

 Now I ask you, which obviously makes more sense? Being proactive when it comes to the new buzzwords “reputation management” or reactive to the negative posts of angry customers? Sure, some of these posts are wrong. But how can you demonstrate it or help them if all you are doing is just reacting to a situation that has escalated to the point of no return? Carfolks, lets you, your dealership, or group invite your customers to your personal pages and review your overall performance after they join and are verified. Carfolks.com is a neutral third party that works to help the customer opinion be represented in that instant execution of thought. The difference is we are helping you to create the thought and act accordingly, right then. If you are a partner dealer, post it to your website testimonials, fix it for the customer if needed, then show it online, or explain it instantly of course.

 And yes, partner dealers get an optimized micro site for every employee that touches or speaks to a customer. Each with video including video seo and wait; Uh, I think that gets us started.
 Let’s just say a big ole handful of goodies you will not believe that are just as exciting.
Get there now and sign up for free or I will say “I told you so.”

Kim Clouse
Carfolks.com

I was finally able to come up for air today after the last few weeks. Then I realized I had not finished the Dealership Innovation Guide from Driving Sales. Must say, I love it. The particular article that came to my attention was by my friend Rafi Hamid entitled Internet Departments are on the decline, and that is good. In my opinion, it is the best description and explanation of where we all need to be going. Hat’s off Rafi  for sharing real and accountable information that the industry needs. Keep bringin it.
Kim

To Tell The Truth!

Well, since I watched the video post by Ralph Paglia on Social Media Douchebags, (here for your pleasure if you missed it.)  http://bit.ly/92jg0U

I could not resist stirring the pot myself.

Okay, you have been at work all week, sold scared, followed every customer to the owner’s office door to introduce them for the mini and you’re burnt. As you enter the cashier’s office to get the last five dollars you have exchanged for ones you glance at the floor and see three one hundred dollar bills.

Nobody else in the world has seen them or you, now standing on them. You’re  invisible, you only have 4 cars out and it is the 15th. Your power bill is two months late and you are back to the go phone.

Tell the truth here and now.

What would you do with this money?

Answer, or if you’re scared, close the page.

Pretenders know.

Kim 

What’s the best way to develope a social media policy for employees without sounding like “big brother” or defeating the purpose of an “open conversation”?

Julie,
I find that it is best to research and find specific negative social content and then allow them to see the damage potential it can have personally. This will help demonstrate how that will affect them professionally. Then, have a special day for the creaton of the process and policy of the company in regard to social media. Invite, in fact “make it mandatory” that everyone attends to help create the process, policy and the “consequence” for breaking the rules. Make it fun, have lunch brought in or have a day away so they feel involved. Then you can moderate and get their thinking channeled to the severity of the consequence. This will let them understand you feel the need for a policy but want their input to write it and that you are serious without the big brother approach.
People usually live better by the rules they help create. They also tend to monitor it better themselves if you give them the power of pride.
From there, have a monthly review day to get their input and check progress. Also make sure every new emloyee understands and ask them for ideas they may have. Be sure to include the company e-commerce and social marketing review day in your employee pack.
Empower them to make the rules, then require them to adhere to those rules or suffer the consequqence you all created together..
In my opinion, this works best.
KC

Okay,
It is time for us to reveal all of the “Snake Oil” we know of over the years that are the (yes I am using slang) stupidest thing you know of a dealer has bought or was presented and considered buying. It still happens you know.
If we think hard enough we can look back and see just how ridiculous a lot of things directed at the auto industry have been. It doesn’t matter if it is fixed ops, sales, f&I, inventory just whatever. You know like some nifty glow in the dark static signs that went on a door in a parts delivery area for late night deliveries. They were $450.00 and could not have cost $10.00 to make. I saw them once and the parts manager said ”hey, I got some signs that glow in the dark so the delivery guys will quit complaining about not having a way to get close to that door.” Yeah right, cheaper than a night light but I never saw them work, not ever. I bet they are still on the building now 12 years later. I know there is a ton of this including consultants and rain makers who have been in your store that you know never sold a car and a host of well, other crap that really isn’t funny but stupid. So let’s all laugh about it now while we can. I want to collect them here and then I will have a surprise for all of you. Dealers, rat out your buddies that fell for stupid stuff that cost thousands and include yourselves. Remember to respect everyone’s privacy or at least pretend you do. After a few weeks I promise you it will get funny and be a good learning experience. Even now, reveal those things that are snake oil and those who need tarred and feathered just like the rain makers.
KC

 It works try it and see!

An example:
If I want to sell 15 cars I need to talk to 100 people because I know my closing ratio from all sources is 15%.
We all look at these statistics e-mail leads answered in 3 minutes close at ___
Phone calls from a referral close at _____
Service customers usually close _______

And in every single store so far, very few have their closing ratio, their demo’s, their TO’s but we keep throwing out numbers and we believe them. The reason salespeople need to know this and their direct manager needs to do a 1 on 1 with them every month is not because of big brother! Not because they are picking on you.
How can you improve if you do not have any idea where you are? We all need goals and activities to reach them. They have to be real and reachable not pie in the sky, fluff or fictitious. If you can’t swallow this get out of the car business, right now. Do your family and yourself a favor and go.
The best salespeople 15 years ago could tell you this stuff in 10 seconds and they did not have computers.
They tracked by hand, without automation, and I know it was more accurate because they needed it to improve and survive. They did not look at it as a scolding or punishment when they were asked because they had to know. Those that actually worked 8 hours a day were true professionals.

Do we need to know?  Really?  Ask yourself if you actually work just  5 hours a day and be honest now, do you think you could sell two or three more cars a month?
Just a thought.
KC