Technology. Websites. Internal Metrics. Social Media. We live and work in a rapidly evolving world with more online tools than ever before. While some sales principles will always remain constant, success in our competitive industry requires commercial dealerships and salespeople who adopt the digital tools that help sell more inventory.

Welcome to Part 3 of our commercial dealership Successful Selling blog series, produced through a partnership between Commercial Web Services, Commercial Truck Trader, and Equipment Trader. As leading providers of innovative solutions that connect buyers and sellers in the equipment and trucking industries, we’re committed to using this blog series to help dealers reach more customers. To that end, today we’re talking about social media! 

Social media has been a hot topic for marketers for years. It’s a constantly changing platform that continues to grow on a daily basis, so marketers frequently strategize around the best way to use it to attract more customers. Although, there’s another department of your dealership that should also think about utilizing it – Sales!

We’ve thought through some creative ways and benefits of your Sales team using social media in their process to land a customer or stay connected to potential customers that weren’t ready to purchase at the time.

Gauge Interesting Content

Have your salespeople take a look at the type of content and posts that are performing well on your pages. This means posts that have received more likes, comments and shares than others. Are they seeing a trend in what type of products or news is most interesting to the customer? If yes, then have your salespeople integrate these products or topics into their conversation with the prospect. This may keep them engaged more and builds trust in your dealership’s ability to understand the customer’s true needs and challenges.

Competitor Analysis

Do you have a competitor in the area? Take a look at what may or may not be working for them on social media. Are they featuring more video of the dealership and people that work there that allows customers to get to know them on a more personal level? Consider including a short video on your pages introducing your sales team so prospective customers can get to know who they’re speaking with. You can use what your competitor is doing well to your advantage just by poking around their Facebook or Twitter profiles. You can also look at who’s following your competitors’ pages and make note of them.

New Pool of Prospects

In relation to the point above, when looking at who’s following your competitors you could potentially build a list of new prospects! Oftentimes on social platforms like Facebook, people have listed where they work on their profiles so you can get an idea of what companies you should also be going after and the type of individuals that are the most receptive. This could be an easy way to do some research on new prospects and behavior that could influence their buying decision.

Keeps You Connected

Say that a prospect decides not to go through with the sale – funding is limited, it’s a slow time of year, etc. Sales representatives know better than anyone that it’s important to stay connected to these individuals so that you’re the first one they think of when they are ready to purchase. A great way to start this is to see if they’re on LinkedIn and connect with them. Facebook and Twitter are a little more social, so if they feel like they’ve created a good enough bond with the prospect in the sales process, then by all means! If they don’t feel quite there yet, LinkedIn is a great place to maintain that connection. If the prospect posts somewhat regularly too, sales representatives can reconnect with them over an opinion on something they posted, relevant industry news, etc.

—

While social media is oftentimes just thought of as a way to stay connected with old friends, it’s become a strong business asset among many industries. Try and shift your team members’, and maybe even your own, perspective of social media and how it can be a strong tool in your sales approach.

—

About Commercial Web Services

Commercial Web Services (CWS) is a leading and innovative digital marketing provider catered exclusively to the equipment, material handling, agriculture, and truck industries. Its mission is to be the preeminent industry resource that helps commercial dealers and manufacturers establish and grow their businesses through strategic marketing efforts. By truly understanding a dealership’s challenges, CWS is able to deliver first-in-class marketing solutions to their everyday business troubles. Its solutions incorporate the marketing industry’s most sought after services, including website hosting and design, search engine services, social media management, inventory exposure and more. For more information about Commercial Web Services, please visit www.commercialwebservices.com.

About Commercial Truck Trader

Commercial Truck Trader is the industry leader serving sellers of light, medium, and heavy duty trucks and trailers. With over 1,000,000 monthly unique visitors to CommercialTruckTrader.com, our main purpose is to bring commercial vehicle buyers and sellers together. Additionally, Commercial Truck Trader is committed to providing innovative products to ensure that manufacturers and dealers generate connections, drive sales and maximize profits. For more information about Commercial Truck Trader, please visit www.CommercialTruckTrader.com.

About Equipment Trader

Equipment Trader is the industry leader serving sellers of construction, earthmoving, agricultural, lifting, forestry, mining, and industrial equipment and trailers. With over 800,000 monthly unique visitors to EquipmentTrader.com, our main purpose is to bring equipment buyers and sellers together. Additionally, Equipment Trader is committed to providing innovative products to ensure that manufacturers and dealers generate connections, drive sales, and maximize profits. For more information about Equipment Trader, please visit www.EquipmentTrader.com.