What marketing avenue is most respected in the industry?

[Nathan F]

Alright I have heard over and over that dealer principles/owners and managers are inundated with people pitching them shit day in day out.
As a future vendor in Aus myself I have been asking myself what strategy ill use to take my product to dealerships.
So what avenue do you respect and give the time to?
In person - I have heard of vendors going to the same dealership every day for weeks before getting a few minutes of their time!
Email - Blend in with the masses of others pitching their ideas...Do you guys even read them ?
Phone - Whats in place to prevent sales calls coming through to you all day?
Mail - I suspect this avenue to be the most respectful...effectiveness im not sure.
Viral - Have a product good enough for dealerships to refer it to others...wait for the call dont make the call!

 

[Dan Sayer]

@Nathan F I've been pursued by vendors for 23 years and I'll give you my list of points that cause me to Delete, Tune Out, and "Sorry, Gotta Go" red flags:

1. "I've worked in Retail so I know what your day is like." No you don't. Ask for our pain points, don't assume. Not all dealers or manager levels look the same.
2. Reps that think they can speak freely because I work in retail. As soon as professional language turns to swearing or defamation of competitors on the first call, I'm out.
3. Fake Re: or Fwd: email subject lines to get attention earn immediate Spam status.
4. Puffery statements like "We are the best" "We are exclusive" immediately earns a Spam label from me as well.

I get at least 2 marketing emails every hour but only 1 phone call a week. That phone call is usually a much more thorough attempt at my attention. They typically know more about me at that point after doing their research. I take every call and at least give it a 2 minute shot unless points 1, 2, or 4 make an early appearance lol.

Realtime email example:
Subject line "Curious about AI? We have solutions for your dealership." - I opened it.
First sentences "Good afternoon Dan, You might be intrigued by the possibilities AI offers but uncertain about the first step. Don't worry, you're not alone!" - I read it
Following sentence "...the first AI consulting firm that tailors scalable AI solutions for dealerships" - Sent to Spam folder....
Why not just follow with a statement of what they do or have done and how they'll help me without having add a comment of puffery? IMO

 

[BillKVMotorCo]

I agree with everything Dan said. I think the biggest way of looking at it is this: If you sound like a salesperson to a salesperson you're going to get ignored. For me, it's simple. Here's who I am. Here's who I work for. Here's what we do. Can I get a few minutes of your time? Follow that with an email that does the same and you will probably hear from me.

 

[Nathan F]

@Dan Sayer & @BillKVMotorCo

Puffy statements 'red flags' is a real interesting point. I suppose to the salesman, owners or marketer thats their way of presenting their Unique Selling Proposition or making one up because they don't actually have one? From your point of view though, you might be getting 3 emails a day claiming to be the first, largest, most exclusive AI consulting company. That might be quite comical/annoying for you!
Its good to hear that a phone call and a follow up email is your preferred method. That's how I have planned to approach dealerships, something simple and quick "Hey this is who I am, this is what we discovered (I did a small study), do you feel like that would benefit your business? Can I send you my presentation and some more information"

This would be one short book "how to Sell to a Salesman" Chapter 1. Don't..

I don't have a sales background so hearing that just being real with decision makers will probably get you the time to pitch and idea or product is really refreshing for me. Thats what I'm good at.

Appreciate the feedback lads.