My name is Donald Trump..

My name is Donald Trump. I have plenty of money that I can spent. Why should I do business with you?

I was reading a book this past week and it reminded me of how quickly we are willing to jump through the hoops for certain customers. The only question I asked myself was; If Donald Trump wanted to do business with me. What reasons would I have to give him the assurance that he could trust me with his business, money and or clients? Reputation management is very important today, more so than ever before.

Never has the opinion of the individual been as powerful as it is today. One negative blog post or review can spread in a matter of seconds. Reputation management is no longer just for Large companies in my opinion .Larger companies have the marketing budgets to help with their reputation management and small companies often don’t have that luxury. What are you currently doing to earn both the Donald Trumps and regular Johnny's business? Why would either one choose you over anyone else?

A few suggestions on reputation management:

Identify unhappy customers before they finish their transaction with you. If you can fix the problem early, they may never even post their complaint to public posts and ratings.

Respond to negative comments with sincerity, transparency, and consistency. Apologize for the incident and explain how it happened. How you’re working to ensure it never happens again. Ask the customer for an opportunity to serve them again and provide a better experience. All of this will leave a positive impression with anyone reading the initial negative review.Most of the time we do not wish to listen to our unhappy customers and cannot wait to get them out the door.

Encourage your happy customers to post their reviews. Unfortunately, happy customers just don’t have the motivation to post a positive review online. Sometimes, asking your happy customers to post a positive review or giving them an incentive to come back to post a positive review can already make a difference. Focus on your happy customers just as much since they will not really have the motivation to post anything since they are satisfied already.

Every customer that comes in your door gives you the opportunity to show EXCELLENCE ! Why are you different than the store next door? Why can they trust you instead of the competition?

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Permalink Reply by Lizelle Landino on January 23, 2011 at 9:02pm

Scot that was funny!! I really wish that I was able to witness that entire story LOL!! Haha actually I am trying to stop laughing. - All giggles to the side, that is my point down to the T. With so much competition and so many dealers flooded in especially our Northern NJ area, we should really value our customers and our reputation extremely well. If you have that one chance only to earn the customers trust and business MAKE sure you ACE it! I can assure you that if you do not, chances are you have said goodbye to one customer and the people they deal with daily. Customers have so many options and so many choices to begin with when they are starting to look at the possible vehicles and their wants and needs. In my opinion, once you let a customer leave your store unhappy or unsatisfied you have had your one and possible only chance.

It is important to recognize mistakes or client concerns while they are in your store and while you still have a say. When they leave your showroom you no longer have much say. We do have some great resources available to us. The most powerful tool to manage your business reputation is social media platforms that helps to promote your online reputation.

Blogs offer a medium through business that contact customers or general public directly. I think that with all the great social media sites and venues available to us, our online reputation should be well focused on .and be your brand, name and voice for your dealership. -

Scot Orzillo said:

Another thought provoking topic for certain.

Having personally known someone who earned Donald's business, I will tell you the average bear does not get chosen.
The gentleman I am referring to owned a painting business that also specialized in refinishing of vintage bathtubs, sinks and toilets. He and I were having coffee one morning when a stretch limo pulled up in front of his business. He jumped up to greet the passenger in the back and as I followed, I asked who it was in the car. His response was "You'll never guess in a million years" and just gave me his usual nutty look with a raised eyebrow.

As we approached the car, the driver opened the back door and there was nobody in the back seat. My friend then reached into the car, emerging with a toilet bowl in his arms. "Say hello to Donald Trump's toilet bowl" he instructed as I just stood there puzzled. Of course I had to ask.

"King, (he referred to himself as The King) what the heck is Donald Trump's toilet bowl doing in the back of a limo?"

His response:
"We received a call from one of his assistants calling around to get information on refinishing Donald's favorite toilet bowl. We, along with a couple of other businesses were recommended by word of mouth. After receiving the call and getting the location, I hired the limo driver to go over and meet with his assistant and inform her that he was there to pick up Donald's bowl and drive it back to me in the limo for refinishing. It so happens that Donald came out when the driver was there, saw this and gave us the job."

True story.

The point is, in business, mediocrity is the norm. Those who go the extra mile, to do whatever it takes to be extraordinary by doing ordinary things consistently well, are those who will succeed. Especially today where the internet has completely commoditized the business of selling new cars, if you do not stand out and give people reasons to buy from you, they will buy from the person or business that does.

Contrary to what I hear from disenchanted sales people, having the lowest price is not the reason people buy from you. “The King” charged Donald double what his competition would have because he gave his potential customer a reason to do so.

People today have far too many choices available to them to accept anything less than the best. And that includes your existing customers you expect to return but somehow do not. If you cannot answer the question, right at this moment of reading this, “why should I buy from you?” with at least five genuine responses, dig deep, write them down and start telling anyone who will listen, tomorrow morning, with no delay. You will be amazed at the results.

Happy Selling!