Social Networking VS Selling ???

Have you ever been to a car dealership and felt like you were treated unfairly? If yes then you sould stop by park auto mall and see David Ingold



Here is a familiar story to anyone who has purchased a used car.

I was down in florida on vacation on the beach I couldn’t help but notice how clean and un-weathered the cars and trucks seemed to be looking…….and even though I happened to be on vacation…….I was still in the market for a NICE good used truck.

I live back home in the dead center of Kansas, over 100 miles from the closest Walmart. If I turn west when I get to the main road a mile from my house, I hit one stop sign in the first 200 miles. I drag posts, haul hay, and pull a 24 foot horse trailer. what I really needed was a truck In fact, I need a 3/4 ton flatbed truck with a tow package on it. Montana is hard on trucks, and I am hard on them, so I
don’t need a new one. I needed it for work not show

Here is my experience buying one.

At the first dealership, on a street lined with dealership after dealership called US 19 I was met by a group of 11 salesmen standing outside, right at the curb. I didn’t even get clear into the lot before they were at both sides of my vehicle, trying to be the ONE who got to sell me the SPECIAL VEHICLE OF THE DAY. I didn’t even get out of my vehicle. I just rolled the window down a bit and said I was only turning around.

At the second dealership, there were multiple sales people on the lot, but I was greeted by only one. I told him what I wanted, and he promptly took me on a long walk to the back of the lot, where he stopped at a brand new $50,000 truck.When I repeated what I wanted, “since you obviously misunderstood,” he told me that they didn’t have one of those, but he could get me a really good deal on this one. I said thanks anyway, and returned to my rental car, with him finally trying to get my name so he could call me when he got one. I declined.

I felt like I had not been heard…… and decided I should start to make my way back towards the hotel I was staying at, out at the beach on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. Hence, I headed west on a road called Park Boulevard.

This is what brought me to the third dealership, I was welcomed to the dealership by a young lady who introduced herself, and asked my name. She asked me if I had ever purchased a certified used vehicle from them before and was I looking for anything in particular, or just generally looking. I told her what I wanted. She thought for a few seconds, and then said something seemed kind of odd…..She asked me if I would like a cup of coffee or maybe a bottle of water. I felt like a cup of coffee was in order so I said sure, she said come with me, and I followed. She said they might not have anything like that at the time, but if I had a minute she would speak to a friend of hers who dealt in trucks like that.

I went inside with her expecting her to show me another brand new truck. To my surprise, she went in an office and called someone on the phone and explained what I was looking for. She paused for a second, and then asked, “What year is it?” She continued to ask pertinent questions until she ended with the sentence, “I don’t know if it will work for my client, but if it does, he’s in your office.” Long story short, it was what I was looking for. I went out back to see it, and ended up buying it.

So, what’s the point? Too many people on the Internet and in sales treat me like the first two used car salesmen.

I get pitched on products and/or companies that don’t even remotely fit what I am doing, by people who haven’t taken the time to GET TO KNOW me.

When I respond that I’m not interested, I get another persistant person talking to me…… as if I obviously don’t get it, because if I did, I would BUY RIGHT NOW.

I leave, and don’t listen to any more from them.

And here’s my question. Which of these categories do you fit into?

Do you get to know them……… or just keep talking?

Some local businesses have taken to social networks for marketing, and one local car dealership said the move is working well.

Mr David Ingold the Internet Director at Park Auto Mall said he got the idea to use social networking as part of his marketing after selling a car in March.

"The next day, when I came to work, I got an e-mail from her inviting me to become her friend on Facebook," he said.

He realized the social tools were better for more then just hanging out and so he decided to do business using them.

Getting set up meant spending several hours on the computer. Now, every time he receives a car in inventory, it automatically shows up on the Twitter feed. He also lets potential customers know about offers.

"My latest message is, dosn't matter if its worth somthing hell put it in as a trade in.

Ingold said the work has paid off by driving people to the dealership Web site.

"I had about 1,850 visits, 1,850 on Saturday, which resulted in 11, 12 cars sold," he said.

Ingold estimates that about 20 percent of the cars sold since March have been because of Facebook and Twitter.

David has the Smarts

I have always been fascinated by Smart Cars. I remember last year I saw a petite woman parked under a shade tree kicked back and reading a book. The car looked normal compared to her, but I’m not sure if I could fit in one.
I started chatting with her about the car, because that was the first one I ever saw up close. She said she loves the car. The only drawback is people staring at you everywhere you go. “It takes a bit getting used to” she said. There are more Smart Cars on the road today, so I’m sure it got a little better.
I was reading up on Smart Cars in Wikipedia. Some Smart Cars have some pretty cool features:
Autonomous Cruise Control System: One of the things I always disliked about cruise control was having to hover my foot over the brake pedal when I’m on the highway as I approach a car going below the speed limit. This system uses either radar or laser to detect this car and will slow down to compensate. It will even automatically resume if the car picks up speed.
Intelligent Parking Assist System (IPAS), also known as the Advanced Parking Guidance System (APGS): Some models come equipped with this feature, which steers itself into a parking space with little input from the user.
Automotive Night Vision with Pedestrian Detection: There really isn’t much published about this feature, but I think the name says it all.
Driverless Car: OK, this one seems a bit scary, but you can read about it here.
Obviously the car has standard features as well, but the above list stood out from the basics like power windows, etc…
Last year you wouldn’t find any on a used car lot because they were so new. Today the used car dealers with talent are successfully finding these cars and putting them on there lot.
Park Automall in the Tampa Bay Florida area manages to keep them in inventory, selling a couple of them a week.
Currently, Park Automall has four used Smart Cars for sale in Tampa. Click the photo to see them all.

David Ingold....ahead of the curve !

Park Automall is not stranger to social networking. Our new used car website is Twitter and Facebook Friendly. We welcome you to either

Follow Us On Twitter!
follow us on Twitter or join us in Facebook. If you are in the market for a used car, follow us on Twitter and you will receive an automatic update every time a new vehicle is added to our inventory. The same goes for Facebook. We look forward to working with you on your next used car purchase.
Park Automall has a great inventory of over 150 used cars in Tampa, Florida.

David Ingold........... gets Smart !

Smart cars are becoming hard to get, but Dave Ingold of park Automall in Pinellas Park Florida keeps a steady supply. Currently he has 2 in stock; a 2008 and a 2009.
According to Wikipedia a Smart Car “allows back-in parking in otherwise parallel parking zones”, due to the fact that it’s overall length is only 98.4 inches. Another words, 3 Smart Cars can fit one one typical parking spot. Visit Park Automall in Pinellas park Florida to personally check this out.

#1 New Car Alternative

David Specializes in hard to find high end exotics...We have the Souths largest selection of "certified" still under warranty "one owner"preowned cars, trucks, vans and SUVs in the Tampa Bay - Pinellas County Area. Our Financing Department will give you the credit you deserve. Our friendly sales staff will help you buy a car, without pressure or hassle! Here at Park Auto Mall we really do make dreams come true!