Rocky Pedden

One of the largest problem most dealerships have: Not knowing how to scale their ad spend. Grow or die should be your motto. But you can’t just make arbitrary guesses. And you can’t just throw large chunks of money at platforms (especially Google and Facebook)…these engines don’t like huge swings in budgets. Easy way to set scaling: If your: ✔️Cost Per Lead < $60 ✔️Cost per Sales < $350 ✔️Closing Rate > 12% (All pre coop and dealer $$$) Then scale your ad budget 5%-10% per month. This has several benefits: ✅ you have a scaling plan that gradually increases ✅ you have built in efficiently circuit breakers. If one of the 3 items from above is not in metric then you don’t scale. You work on your operations or ad spend channels. Be proactive and have a plan.

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Think about this for a moment: Your ads are running, your team is working hard, yet the sales just aren’t adding up. Sound familiar? It’s not for lack of effort—it’s the system. Most dealerships are unintentionally leaking opportunities in three areas: 1️⃣ Treating all leads the same way instead of segmenting them. 2️⃣ Inconsistent follow-ups that leave potential buyers feeling undervalued. 3️⃣ Failing to pre-qualify, which wastes time on low-intent leads. Now imagine: 💡 A system that connects with buyers when they’re ready. 💡 A process that values trust-building over hard selling. 💡 A dealership that feels effortless to run and admired in your community. This isn’t about working harder. It’s about redefining how your dealership connects with its customers. What small changes could make a big difference for your team? Let’s discuss.

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FOMO is something every brand needs to master in different parts of the customer journey. We've gone from 0 to $80M in the last 5 years. This is what we've learned in the 3 easiest ways to induce FOMO. ✔ Push UGC Not in the standard influencer usage of UGC. Encourage your buyers to share stories, reviews, and photos featuring your products. Here’s the plug-and-play setup: 1)  Create a page on your website dedicated to customer stories.  2)  Social Media Campaigns (make a hashtag)  3)  Contest and Giveaways - Host a contest where users share photos or videos of them using your product for a chance to win a prize. ✔ Leverage Social Proof Include it in your copy. People love reading about the success stories of others, especially first-time buyers. Garners trust for the brand + makes them feel confident that if it worked for others, it’ll work for them too. Do it through email, SMS, ads, or any other content that you push out to your audience. ✔ Create REAL Urgency There’s a few ways you can do this, 1) If you say there are only ten pieces left in stock – once the ten pieces are sold out, you MUST say SOLD OUT. 2) Limited-Edition Products Change up the packaging, sell it only in-store, or the countless other ways to run a limited-edition item. 3) The Countdown Timer Stick a live countdown timer on the page where you’re running a limited-time offer. The reason this method is so effective is because it’s something about actually visualizing time running out that makes buyers start running around like headless chickens. Alright so urgency, social proof, UGC What am I missing?

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This week on SDR, we're getting into the nitty-gritty of making your Service Department profitable. We're talking five game-changing steps that can turn things around fast. We'll cover everything from getting a handle on your financials to pricing that actually makes sense. Plus, we'll show you how to set up systems that don't just look good on paper, but actually get results. If you're tired of barely breaking even, or just want to take your already good department to great, you'll want to catch this one >> https://swiy.co/PE-O

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Stop relying on closed loop, third party platforms to grow your business. 1) Amazon 2) Tik Tok Shop —> Even if you’re a 8/9/10 figure seller, they do not care about you. They’ll rip you off with Amazon Basics before you know it’s coming. There’s zero “seller support”. —> They force you into FBA in order to be listed as Prime. (This requires a ton of cash flow to distribute all product across all their fulfillment centers). —> You cannot have products listed on any other selling channels at a lower cost or else Amazon will legitimately take you down. This forces brands hands into either giving away more margin or creating Amazon specific products and/or bundles. —> Did I mention you can’t even capture customer data? Oh yeah, and Amazon is the only platform where organic and paid go hand in hand. Do you want to really sell and move units on there? Get ready to DUMP in a SH!T TON of $$$ Now let’s move onto Tik Tok Shop. —> Wait, you can’t collect customer information here either? Hahahahahaha, nope! Funny question though. —> I have yet to meet a single person who has purchased a product from Tik Tok Shop and knows what brand it came from. They either have no idea or assume Tik Tok made it. So there’s legitimately ZERO brand exposure occurring. —> You have to pay for ads, give away 20% to affiliates, give them free product, pay the platform fees? Yup, you do. —> It’s a compulsive product purchase platform. What does that mean? That means younger consumers scroll, see a cool product being shown off, and one click purchase. They don’t care who is selling it. They don’t care what brand makes it. They don’t leave platform to further research. So what does that mean? Zero brand exposure is occurring regardless of how many customers float over to another closed loop system in Amazon 🙄 —> You can try to capture data during the unboxing experience for customers, but let’s be honest here… no one’s scanning marketing insert QR codes anymore. It’s 2024. Take rates on that across in box packaging is under 1%. So what am I saying here? 1) If you can maintain 15-20%+ margins on these channels and keep them profitable then keep truckin’ along. All the power to you. 2) Grow and maximize your own channels first before you even think about selling on closed loop platforms. 3) Social Commerce is here to stay, but as it currently stands, it’s not for everyone. Not all brands have the cash, product, or margin in order to even consider it, especially since you can’t collect data or even expose your brand the way you want it exposed. 4) China is going to continue to BLOW THESE UP, but in a bad way. Get ready for Amazon China folks and Temu will keep doubling daily. 5) YouTube x Shopify is going to DOMINATE all social commerce. In a few years you’ll forget all about TT Shop. The winners will be there so start preparing for that. Anyways, that all I have for now, I gotta go.

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A CEO asked me, "We're ready to grow our sales team, which model is better for selling to dealers, SDRs with AE or full cycle AEs? Here's my advice. Both models can be effective. Both can fail miserably. With the SDR model, the handoff is the choke point. SDR books an appointment, dealer doesn't show. This compounds with incentivizing SDR for booking and showing appointments. A full-cycle AE on the other has an opportunity to transition right into a demo when the dealer shows interest. I could sound like this..."Are you in front of your computer?" "I just shot you a link, I can show you..." I like the full-cycle AE because so much is dependent on relationships when selling to dealers. Full-cycle AEs create deeper trust and long-term loyalty. The downside is it's stressful and burnout happens. If I had a commodity product with heavy competition, I'd suggest SDRs. Also for a startup looking to scale fast. But a complex solution I favor full-cycle AEs. Regardless of the model, you need the right players on the bus. ________________ I like to work with companies that need help with my strengths: Cold outreach, booking appointments, and generating new revenue in automotive. I accept all meeting requests so if you want to talk, use the link in my profile or DM.

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For sellers today, your opening is the new closing. Here's a solution to a common challenge, "Now's not a good time." or"In a meeting." Or my all-time favorite, "I'm in the middle of a deal." Agree and ask. "Would it make sense." It sounds like this... "I get it, now's not a good time. Would it make sense if I told you why I called and you tell me if I should even bother calling back?" (This is said with a laid-back, conversational tone.) You can save the majority of calls with this approach. That's only stage one. The reason you called has to create curiosity, not sell the solution. It sounds like this... I'm calling because we've been working with Planet Honda, (I call this the piggy-back approach because you're leveraging a brand your prospect will recognize and respect.) and since your store is similar I thought it would make sense to share how we helped them improve margin compression 25% last quarter. (This creates curiosity by using FOMO, the dealer will think, "You work with Planet Honda, they're legit. How'd you help them?) When you do this right, the dealer says something like... "I only have 15 minutes, make it quick." You reply, "That's okay, I only have 10 minutes." You both share a laugh, Then get down to business.

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I’ve built over 200 websites for Carwashes 🚗  Here’s what I’ve learned: No one is taking full advantage of SEO in the car wash industry. Every day 50,000 people search “carwash near me”. That’s 50,000 potential customers with no brand loyalty. Customers are searching and heading right to the highest ranking car wash.  Imagine your revenue if you were the first carwash they saw. Let’s change that. The carwash industry’s focus has always been on Go-To-Markets, free wash campaigns, and upselling retail to become members. All important things BUT there’s a huge opportunity to capture a greater amount of the market share. SEO is one of the most effective ways to increase market share - and often times the most neglected. Download our free carwash SEO guide: https://lnkd.in/ghtNhQWs ------------ Who am I? I’m Jeff and there’s a decent chance if you’re a car wash operator or marketing manager, I built your website at a previous job 😎 I know what the backend of your website looks like and exactly how we can improve it. Schedule a free carwash website audit with me here: https://lnkd.in/gbdFrUd3

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Last month we sent cold emails to 26,000 franchise decision makers for a client on 9/18/24. 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁: Are you skipping Digital Dealer? We are too. 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲: 17%. (4,500 decision-makers). 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲: 4% (202 clicks) 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀: 8 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀: 2 The titles we sent to were: Owner, Principal, President, CEO and GM. The client now has 200 prospects to follow up with, this represents those decision makers that clicked but didn't convert. We are executing a LinkedIn outreach campaign to these decision makers. Also using the clicked email for Facebook Custom Audience Targeting The best part is 3 of the leads are 10+ rooftop groups. This is over $300,000 in new pipeline. Interested to learn more, lets talk.

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Drip...drip...drip... That's the sound of your potential revenue seeping away if your sales processes aren't as robust as your marketing ones. Scenario? A top-notch marketing campaign generating a wealth of high-quality leads. But what if your sales process isn’t on par? It's akin to watering a garden with a leaky hose – inefficient and exasperating. So, how do we plug the leak? Step one: Understand the cause of the leak. Is it due to communication gaps, undefined roles, or lack of training? In the forthcoming posts, we will delve into each of these issues separately, with practical advice on how to plug those leaks for good.

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Red Flag Alert… Ecommerce Gurus There have been a ton of Ecommerce Gurus starting to pop up on my feed lately and I do want to address this as it’s quite important. A lot of times, people will get pulled into buying a course or mentorship program without knowing if they’re actually legit. News alert: The legit ones are well known in the Ecommerce industry. If people in the Ecom industry don’t know this person or can’t vouch for them, chances are… they’re not really who they say they are. Also note a couple of things I’ve noticed(generalized points): - Have followers, but no notable Ecom operator or brand owners know them - Constantly pitching “mentorship” or paid course - Claim to have a team but most likely don’t - Not on LinkedIn (weirdly) Now I’m not saying that all mentorship programs or courses are trash, but what I am saying is that it’s super saturated and if you are going to invest into one… find someone who is more notable and legit in the industry. At the same time, however, what I’ve also noticed is that most of the information gurus provide are already available… So in essence, you’re really paying for information that is most likely available for free. In comparison, if you are paying someone who’s “vetted”… you’re not really paying for information, you’re really paying to have access to their network. Sorry to say this, but gurus typically don’t have an extensive network and will never “offer” it out. Point is, just be careful out there and do more vetting!

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My $10,000 Client Asked me this 👇 → Does LinkedIn outbound work? → Is inbound the only way to grow business? This is the most over-discussed topic ever! Me to client: It’s like trying to ride a vehicle on just one tire. When you're trying to scale your biz online: You need a strong personal brand. You need multiple strategies. You need to start conversations in DMs. You need to share practical resources. & much more. These all together make a success story! Client: Glad I started working with you. If I did it alone, these would take 3–4 hours a day (120 hours a month) + No Direction. How much time do you spend per week on brand building & lead gen? #personalbranding #leadgeneration

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If you aren't using direct mail as an acquisition and retention strategy for your D2C brand, you are leaving a huge amount of cash on the table. If you are just getting started, Michael Epstein from PostPilot shared with me that you should ALWAYS start with retention. There are tons of easy wins. The biggest opportunity is targeting old customers who ARE NOT engaging with your other channels (email, Meta, etc.) and "waking them back up" as he puts it. The magical thing is you can track each of these retention audiences by cohort and understand how each is performing and which is most profitable. Seriously, if you aren't using PostPilot, you need to wake up!

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How to Outperform 99% of Sales Reps - Prepare the night before. - Eliminate distractions. - Prioritize your highest-value activities each day. - Execute relentlessly. - Create content that sparks curiosity. - Focus on warm outreach. - Follow up like it’s your superpower. - Learn fast—never repeat the same mistake. Notice something? It’s not about competing with others. It’s about competing with yourself.

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We need more UGC. We need more eyeballs on our brand. We need XYZ influencer... I've seen it time and time again. I hop on calls with ecom operators and they think they need the newest shiny object. 30 minutes later we figure out: • Untapped customer segments • Overlooked offers to increase AOV • Conversion-killing checkout processes • Same creative concepts used over and over again for months on end Here's the truth: Most e-commerce brands are leaving 3-5x revenue on the table. 3-5x. Simply because they don’t know what they don’t know. Just like how you can't touch the tip of your finger with the tip of your finger, sometimes you're too close to your business to see some of these opportunities. I would know, I've been in the same scenario with my business. Joining a consultancy group that specializes in scaling agencies like us has taken our business to places we never thought we could get to. And that's not to say that this is always the case, or that you can't hit your next milestone without having a partner that's made the mistakes and got the learnings already. You don't need running shoes to run. But it freaking helps. P.S. If you're having a hard time scaling profitably and are worried about the results this Q4, I've got a 50 page doc that covers everything you need to scale your spend to 6 figs/month profitably. It's free. Shoot me a DM and I'll send it to you.

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You don’t need a massive budget or an army of marketers to start implementing ABM. Sometimes a leaner team is an advantage. Here’s the approach I recommend for a small, scrappy marketing team that wants to connect with high-value accounts (think complex sales cycles of ACV > $30k) and drive results with ABM: ✅ Start with 100 Key Accounts Identify 100 high-priority accounts your organization wants to work with. This tight focus allows you to dive deep and get to know each target on a 1:1 level. Build a list of contacts at each account and determine the best way to get your foot in the door. Do they know your organization already? Are you starting from no awareness? Building genuine relationships starts here, with intentionality and a clear understanding of who you’re targeting. ✅ Choose Your First Layer of Connection What’s the initial touchpoint? It could be personalized outreach via LinkedIn from your CEO, content tailored to each account’s pain points and delivered via LinkedIn ads, or a targeted email campaign designed just for them. The goal is to create meaningful interactions, not to bombard them with generalized content. By starting small, you control your outreach, test tactics, and build on what resonates. ✅ Add Layers Over Time Once you’ve established a motion with this primary cohort, expand strategically. You could introduce a 1:few approach for a secondary set of accounts, adding another layer of tailored content or engagement that scales just enough to be effective without losing the personal touch. ABM isn’t about doing everything at once. It's about thoughtful expansion, one relationship at a time. When you're operating on a small team, ABM is a disciplined, account-by-account approach. And when it’s done with the right foundation, every interaction becomes more impactful, building momentum with each connection.

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