Frustrated FT wannabe...

Topic: Frustrated FT wannabe... (Read 1857 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #25 – May 03, 2012, 09:14:32 am

My rant:

I don't know what to make of this topic. I've only ever worked for large multinational corporations with very large staffs to take care of everything from customer service to web design. So, if one of these staffers were to read this topic, he/she would scurry around and ask other staffers what to make of it, and what to do about it next. Most would eventually end up with someone who consults and determines that their sales and web strategies have been well thought out and do not need fine tuning at this time. That, in fact, there is a rhyme and reason for the way they are handling prospective customers as well as web based communications, sales advertising.

The president of the company would never even find out about this topic being discussed in a web site for company product enthusiasts. These people have a laundry list a mile long of very important issues to address.

I don't know how a US small business would handle this type of issue. The scale of small business is too foreign to me. In large companies the sheer number of people and politics has a smoothing/conditioning effect for just about everything. I suppose in a small business where folks have to wear many hats the smoothing/conditioning is far less.

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #26 – May 03, 2012, 09:28:38 am

I'll post this link to a Foretravel for sale in the Dallas area, as an example of fine marketing. I met a couple last month that bought their Foretravel from this company. I have been to see coaches in their indoor spotlessly clean location. They do a great job of listing, and showing coaches, and write up very nice lists of the equipment. An example for other sales organizations to follow maybe?

2005 Foretravel

There is another sales group in North Dallas that shows more photos than I have ever seen in an ad. The huge Houston consignment lot always shows floorplans, that is so helpful. Someone said, unshown or unsaid is unsold. You have to pull your buyers to you to make sales and we are all maybe looking for our next coach. We really want those sales and service companies to be there the next time we need help.

Yes, it takes someone's time to do the internet site, but that is the trend that must be followed to draw the customer base from all over the country to a small east TX city. Judging from the number of out of state owners and tags on coaches, Nacogdoches is on the map for sure.

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #27 – May 03, 2012, 09:32:07 am

WRT the comment below by Gary, a realtor once told me no one sells a house better than the owner which is why they had a comment section for me to fill out upgrades, selling points, etc. I tend to agree with him and selling a MH isn't much different than a house. There can be ton's of upgrades and little things you've learned or improved over the course of ownership that might strike a cord with a prospective buyer. If I were MOT or FOT, I would somehow incorporate this into each add.

Quote from: Gary Bouland – May 03, 2012, 08:18:30 am

My two cents;
I suspect that most dealers have no idea what UPGRADES there are in any MH. MOT and FOT may be an exception but they probably shy away from listing upgrades in sales ads because they will either miss something or get it wrong. I recall Dave H's situation where a RETARDER was listed and it turned out to be an EXHAUST BRAKE ( hope I'm right Dave ).
I also suspect that most buyers ( with a lot of exceptions on this forum ) would take a salesmans word for an upgrade and do not really do a good inspection to confirm it. My experience ( and I am guilty to ) is that a buyer gets the FEVER for a coach and at that point goes brain dead , only reviving when he gets home and RTFM.
I would much rather depend on the word of an impartial inspector as to what the features are in a MH , new or used, than the word of even the most honest salesman. And you always have to keep in mind that the ad for a MH is a come one designed to get you on the lot, a good salesman can get his hooks in you but he has to have you in arms reach to do it.
Yeah I know I am a cynic.
Gary B

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #28 – May 03, 2012, 10:35:54 am

I think the reason these dealers do not list the upgrades, especially those made by the owner, is because they would be liable to ensure it works correctly and to RVIA standards...Maybe?

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #29 – May 03, 2012, 10:47:41 am

I thought RVIA was for RV manufacturer's, not dealers? There are probably many that know for sure, but I would think an RV dealer is similar to a car dealer in that they can be sold in almost any condition or "as is".

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #30 – May 03, 2012, 10:58:33 am

Quote from: Benjie Zeller – May 03, 2012, 10:47:41 am

I thought RVIA was for RV manufacturer's, not dealers? There are probably many that know for sure, but I would think an RV dealer is similar to a car dealer in that they can be sold in almost any condition or "as is".

Benjie,
Indeed you are correct about selling as is, etc. But, if a dealer advertises a coach for sale with LED flat screen TV's and they are not working as intended, the buyer may want to have the dealer make good on his ad.

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #31 – May 03, 2012, 10:58:56 am

I would think that upgrades listed would make it sell fast not for a higher price. I know if I sold my coach I would want the upgrades to be listed. I also think that with David F shop upgrading so many coaches that this might become a major issue in the future.

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #32 – May 03, 2012, 10:59:33 am

Quote from: Peter & Beth – May 03, 2012, 10:58:33 am

Benjie,
Indeed you are correct about selling as is, etc. But, if a dealer advertises a coach for sale with LED flat screen TV's and they are not working as intended, the buyer may want to have the dealer make good on his ad.

If it does not work whether it was listed or not, I would ask that it be made to work....

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #33 – May 03, 2012, 11:15:26 am

Quote from: Dave and Dolly Cobb – May 03, 2012, 09:28:38 am

I'll post this link to a Foretravel for sale in the Dallas area, as an example of fine marketing.

No sales site is perfect but that one certainly comes close (no photos of the bays which I suspect would be high on any prospective buyer's interest list). Putting photos on a web site costs nothing but bandwidth. I think I would err on the side of putting on so many that people might get tired of scrolling through them.

As far as being responsible for whether anything works or being accurate in the listing of upgrades... I would think that the fine print would cover that. But I've never been much of a lawyer so I dunno.

I have created web sites (reluctantly) and one thing I do know is that once the template is in place they're by far the cheapest advertising you can get. It just seems to me that buyers want to be able to drill down for information. Of course, salesmen want them to call for those details. So there is a tension there, right from the start.

I agree that prospective buyers become brain-dead to details at some point in the buying process and the lust for a new toy takes over. And although I am really happy with my lowly U225, I might have made another choice had I known last summer all that I know now.

And waited to buy Brett's coach.

Craig

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #34 – May 03, 2012, 11:16:21 am

Agree. Not much different than a house really. A person can advertise all kinds of upgrades in their house and in the end its up to the buyer to verify working order via either their own or a paid inspection. In the end, fixing or verifying is all in the negotiation. A dealer could easily asterisk any claimed upgrades as unverified if they wanted so as to eliminate any issues. Business practices would then dictate how well those dealers did in the end. My guess is those that learned how to market the upgrades and also insured they worked would be ahead of the game in the long run. Again, this comes from the buyer's perspective as I've never been on the other side to know whether this is realistic for a dealer and still remain competitive.

Quote from: Peter & Beth – May 03, 2012, 10:58:33 am

Benjie,
Indeed you are correct about selling as is, etc. But, if a dealer advertises a coach for sale with LED flat screen TV's and they are not working as intended, the buyer may want to have the dealer make good on his ad.

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #35 – May 03, 2012, 10:14:29 pm

Over the past couple of years we've "looked" at hundreds of coaches via websites, including FOT, MOT, and PPL. Yes, the upgrades may not do much for the selling price, but they may make the difference between "for sale" and "SOLD!" I suspect that each buyer (and that includes both people in a couple) has a different list of things to look at. I know that Jo Ann and I look at different things simply because of our differing areas of expertise.

One small dealership I check occasionally is really a mom-and-pop operation, and sometimes it shows in their pictures. For some reason they run all the pictures together, with no borders or white space. I emailed them about that, because one particular pair of pictures looked like it was one picture, and some things in that "picture" didn't seem to make sense. They thanked me for my suggestion and put a black border around the pictures - of that coach only, and only for about a week. So much for customer feedback.

I like Dave's idea, and I think that when the time comes for us to buy a coach we'll do likewise. We'll do the searching from home, but when we're ready to buy we'll either hook up the Mercury and mpg and make a vacation of it or get in the Lincoln and make a fast trip.

Until then I'm learning all I can. It still won't be enough, but it will be more than I would have if I just watched tv.

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #36 – May 03, 2012, 11:29:08 pm

Sometimes a bunch of businesses can learn from one well-publicized event. When we bought our lake house our sales agent had to leave town when we were scheduled to look at it and gave us the cell phone of the broker. This is a small town in the middle of an agricultural area but at the time was heavily being bought by Seattle residents looking for sunshine and water skiing. Nevertheless, all the real estate companies were closed on weekends; most of them without even an answering machine.

When we called the broker he was on the golf course and flatly refused to come show us the house. Since we were *at* the house we looked around and noticed two girls in bikinis on the dock next door. They saw us and came over and when we explained what had happened one of the bik... er girls said she was a RE salesperson and had a key. But she worked for another brokerage. Nevertheless, bikini and all, she showed us the house and when we bought it she was our sales agent.

The golfing broker's game cost him about $10k and his salesperson's commission. He did get his listing commission but the story got all over town (with my help) and shortly thereafter we had RE sales offices open on weekends taking all the Seattle business. Now, ten years later, they either have a sales person on call or an open office.

So if one of these RV outfits expands their web presence and manages to get more prospective buyers off their duffs and onto their sales lots maybe they'll all get a clue.

Craig

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #37 – May 04, 2012, 12:47:24 am

Jake. I long ago got over being embarrassed about it. Love the coach so much it doesn't really matter that much.

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #38 – May 04, 2012, 12:54:59 am

Actually, David R worked with several of us to revise the website about 3-4 years ago. Then it really went downhill for awhile, not being updated and a lot of wrong info being posted. Then they redid the website again with a new designer.

The staff is really far more comfortable with a personal one on one experience... MOT moves coaches quickly unless a consigner is stuck or price... You tell the what you are looking for and chances are they know someone that is ready to move their coach. They will get and send you pictures.

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #39 – May 04, 2012, 07:22:51 am

IMHO, web sites with all the pictures and info are nice to look at and get basic information, and are useful tools when shopping for a coach. However they promote a lot of long distance "tire kickers", send me more pictures and more info only to never to be heard from again. When all is said and done the sales staff at the dealer is looking for the person that is on the lot with $$ and ready to buy, that's when they get paid, all the rest is simply exercise. To you and me my RV is a personal thing, to the dealer it is a product. As another poster said sooner or later one has to actually go look.

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #40 – May 04, 2012, 08:08:56 am

Quote from: bbeane – May 04, 2012, 07:22:51 am

IMHO, web sites with all the pictures and info are nice to look at and get basic information, and are useful tools when shopping for a coach. However they promote a lot of long distance "tire kickers", send me more pictures and more info only to never to be heard from again. When all is said and done the sales staff at the dealer is looking for the person that is on the lot with $$ and ready to buy, that's when they get paid, all the rest is simply exercise. To you and me my RV is a personal thing, to the dealer it is a product. As another poster said sooner or later one has to actually go look.

I will agree with this for most RVs but on certain brands you really have only a few choices and FT has the most choices in TX so you need to have a good website.

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #41 – May 04, 2012, 01:54:10 pm

Quote from: John S – May 04, 2012, 08:08:56 am

I will agree with this for most RVs but on certain brands you really have only a few choices and FT has the most choices in TX so you need to have a good website.

I just went to both F/T and MOT's sites, F/T had 30 -40 pictures of the 2 used coaches I looked at, and complete specs. If I where in the buying mode that would certinally be enough for me to contact the sales staff for more detailed information if my intrest was stirred. Im sure they would be more than glad to provide more details, such as age of the tires, service records, custom work/upgrades, and so on that they have access to. But hey thats just me

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #42 – July 30, 2012, 11:31:04 pm

Over the weekend Jo Ann and I were discussing a particular coach that was listed on one of the websites. I emailed the dealership Saturday night, knowing that no one would see the email until today. I was pleasantly surprised to get an automatic response yesterday, so I fully expected that I'd get an email today. So far, nothing.

Now, don't get me wrong. We're NOT suddenly in a buying mode, and I did say that in my email. Rather, we're getting closer to deciding what coaches will suit us. The one on the website seems to be a pretty good match, and if this was 2013 I might be telling Jo Ann that we're going to have to figure out how to make a trip.

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #43 – July 31, 2012, 01:38:16 pm

Reading all the Foretravel wannabee notes here, make me think buying a Foretravel is the same as dreaming thru the Sears Catalog 50 years ago.
My thoughts would be to get into my gitney (auto) and go put my eyeballs on what I was dreaming about, no one ever will ever be able to take enough pictures or create enough words to completely satisfy ones every little question and thought they might dream up.
Maybe the computer is what we should be blaming for all this ?
Dave M

Re: Frustrated FT wannabe...

Reply #44 – July 31, 2012, 02:22:56 pm

Dave, you are pretty close. The difference is that when we looked at the Sears catalog 50 years ago (yes, I did, too, and the Montgomery Wards one, too), we could order the item from the catalog and if it wasn't what we thought it ought to be we could return it. Of course, most of us kids would pick out what we wanted and then have to go to the store to order it, and maybe the store actually had the item in stock so that we could look at it before we bought. Now, with the Internet, we can look at coaches all around the country. When one looks interesting, we still have to go see it. It is 550 miles from here to Nacogdoches, so we can't just run down every so often to see if there might be a coach that might be interesting to us. Rather, we'll use the websites to see what there is. If something looks interesting then we'll make a phone call. The big problem comes after that. We could probably make it to Nac in one day IF we only took the car. Figure on three days there (one to make the deal and two for instruction/fixes) and two days home. There goes a week. The only time during the school year I can take that much time off is between Christmas and New Years. Oh well, maybe the right coach won't show up until May of the year we want to buy.

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