By Jimmy Vee & Travis Miller

If you're like many dealers today, what you’re doing to attract customers is not working the way it should be—or the way it once did. There was a time when you could just buy a small ad, handout business cards at a networking event or mail a postcard and get clients. That’s no longer the case.

Haven’t you been wondering what’s changed? Where has all the business, ups and traffic gone?

The extinction of buyers is two fold. 1. The traditional model is broken and the old way of doing things is worn out and ineffective. 2. Automotive marketing incest is rampant. Dealers tend to copy what other dealers are doing, often with no regard for the effectiveness of the pilfered strategies. This incestuous marketing behavior creates stale, unoriginal marketing and lackluster sales.

Too many entrepreneurs, business owners and sales professionals are wasting their time, money and opportunity with traditional marketing practices that are washed up, worn out and do not deliver profitable results.

Listen up. I you are a dealer that wants more…more prospects…more sales…more money, you can have it all no matter what the economic conditions. The caveat? You must be willing to do something different.

So what’s alive? What's working? What can you do today to make a difference tomorrow without breaking the bank?

Here’s a sure-fire approach anyone can take immediately to make a dramatic impact on the bottom-line:

1. Stop Thinking Media

Most dealers jump right to asking, "Where should I place my ad?" Then when the chosen media doesn't perform the way they think it should they state triumphantly, "______ doesn't work." Fill in the blank with whatever media you've tried and were disappointed with. Then that media gets crossed off the list of possible choices and you're one step closer to finding the magic media. Or so you think.

If you continue this trend and this way of thinking, you will quickly run out of media options and be left with only bus benches and match book covers. With every other media crossed off your list you'll be forced to come to the conclusion that marketing doesn't work. That's certainty not the case. It just doesn't work the way you're doing it…the traditional way.

You have to stop thinking about where the ad should go and start thinking about who the ad is for.

2. Stop Selling Cars

What? Perhaps we should say, stop MARKETING vehicles. Everyone sells vehicles and features. Whether you're selling one brand or another most consumers could care less about what you offer and have a thousand options. So why should they pick you?

If you fail to create a compelling reason for people to buy what you're selling, you will wind up right in the middle of the commodity market where logic dictates the sale and you’re left with no option but to compete on price and selection. That’s when your lead flow dries up and your profit suffers.

3. Start Selling Outcomes

Instead of talking about the features of your products and services, start talking about the specific reasons a prospect should choose you over everyone else and what they have to gain from the transaction. Declare to the world, “I am the obvious choice! Doing business with anyone else would be foolish.”

You want to make concrete offers and tie those offers to powerful benefits. What are the big obstacles your customers are facing? What do they have gain by working with you? What do they have to lose by not working with you? What are your competitors missing? What do you do potentially better than anyone else?

You are selling dream fulfillment!

Your potential customers are dying for a buying preference that makes their decision making process easy. So, make your claim, back it up with a promise and a guarantee and tell the prospect exactly how and why you will make their life much, much better.

Here’s an important distinction: we’re not talking about spending money on marketing or advertising in order to “get your name out there” or “build brand.” That's traditional and tends to be a waste of money for smaller businesses.

We’re suggesting that you communicate these ideas through a compelling story or message that causes people to take action and allows you to measure your results.

Most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t know this information and many of the ones who do know it are too stubborn, too lazy or too afraid to do anything with it.

The wise person who takes this information and runs with it will be in striking distance of dominating their market, making their competition impotent and ending up with a lead producing machine so powerful that they're actually able to take a few days off each week to spend with their family because the marketing is so effective.