(By Jackson Del Weaver) Jim wasn’t what you’d expect. Today less so, but back then car dealers were often slick, fast talking and dressed to kill or at least maim. That wasn’t Jim – always a little disheveled wearing a white button down shirt with a colorless tie. He walked the car showroom floor with rubber soled shoes designed for a retail sales person at Target. Not particularly tall or impressive on meeting him….but he’d meet your eye and his word was always good. An artifact of his Mormon upbringing.
Jim Wagstaff owned Wagstaff Toyota in Salt Lake City – and he’d been perceptive enough to obtain a Toyota dealership …well before Toyota was cool. And with that dealership he became the biggest dealer in a multi-state area. His showroom building was a predecessor to the multi-story behemoths that Lexus or Audi builds today. Occupying a full city block with multiple floors for service as well as new and used inventory. Ever dedicated to his business his home occupied the top floor of the building with stunning views of the Wasatch mountains and downtown Salt Lake.
His marketing was unusual too. He bought every radio station in the market and several more in smaller adjacent markets that fed buyers into the retail hub that is Salt Lake City. Seldom would you see TV or print ads for Wagstaff Toyota…but he was on radio every day…at all hours. I don’t recall that the creative was exceptional – but his presence was impressive.
So one day while sitting in the showroom talking to him I asked, “So Jim…why do you buy so many radio stations? Why so deep?”
He leaned back and said,…”It’s really pretty simple. Everyday in this town a group of people wake up and need to buy a new car THAT DAY. An accident…their lease is up…maybe they need a car for their kids…or a divorce. Whatever the reason they need a car today! And radio is the most effective way to reach them before they consider anyone else…I’m always there.”
In our Tuesday morning No Fear Café video Zoom meeting we explore new and different ways to keep clients on the air in this turbulent time. While we had no such crisis when Jim was selling Corollas and Tercels…his advice is still PERFECT for today’s Covin-19 environment.
Everyday – even in this Covid-19 crisis – in your market, people wake up and need a car. Same scenario…lease expiring…had an accident…or just got bored with making payments on a car they no longer like.
We are all dealing with our automotive clients canceling their advertising and hunkering down. And in some states they are prohibited from even opening their doors…but the demand is not totally going away. Online sales, curbside road tests and good old telephones are all tools for sales in this environment.
And – if there is to be pent up demand for new cars – aggressive dealers want to remind your audience that they are still there and ready to deal on a new vehicle.
As we say in our weekly Zoom calls, the approach remains. Listen. Exchange stories. Express genuine support and suggest ideas. Wait. Wait for one of them to catch. Oh…and did I mention to listen?
One final funny story about Jim. I walked into his showroom one day to find him riding a bike on a circuit around the outside of the dealership, up the service ramp, down the new car line and back through the used cars. Still dressed in a white dress shirt, black slacks and his ‘retail’ shoes, I asked what he was doing. “Well we rented this bike for the weekend and it’s not due back until tonight so I’m getting the most use out of it while I have to pay for the damn thing.”
That bike and radio. He got a lot of mileage out of both.
Join us in the No Fear Café where we are creating ideas and connection with each other in our video Zoom calls. 9AM (PT) each Tuesday. Registration is required to prevent Zoombombing. Register at www.intownmedia.com
