10:22 am, October 31, 2010
WHOEVER said you couldn’t sell a car via Twitter was lying. Because we’ve got proof that it can be done!
On Saturday we sold the first of our Mazda MX-5 pairing after a conversation that started on the social networking website.
Last Wednesday Golley Slater PR Suzanne Tennant – pictured right – tweeted that she was in desperate need of a new car after her’s was written off in an accident.
She was talking about buying a new Kia Picanto, so I didn’t think anything of it. But then, when I tweeted a link to one of our Mazdas that had been listed on eBay, a direct message arrived in my inbox.
‘Would you take an offer for the MX-5 you’ve got on eBay as I need a car by this weekend,’ asked Suzanne.
‘Not really,’ I replied. ‘We like to our auctions run. But I’ve got another. With 12 months tax and MOT and a new service.’
A few more direct messages later and we’d agreed a price and two days later Suzanne turned up to pick up the car. We’d agreed £1,700 via Twitter, but some haggling over the unknown cambelt age saw us let it go for £1,600.
Suzanne went away happy and we celebrated the easiest sale of our lives. We didn’t even have to advertise it.
MISSING A TRICK
What really got us thinking, though, was what Suzanne said while she was here. She explained she’d tweeted about the fact she needed a new car and had asked if anyone could help.
Although a couple of manufacturers got in touch with her, not one dealer spotted it.
‘If a dealer had set up a search for “looking for a new car” then they could of snapped up my business,’ she explained.
‘I was in desperate need of a new car and if the right dealer had come along with the right advice I would have bought.’
So what led her to us then?
‘I knew about the Mazdas as I’d seen you’d been tweeting about them,’ she explained. ‘Your tweet was timely about the eBay auction, it reminded me, and I decided to get in touch.’
It just goes to show that Twitter really is a powerful tool. You don’t have to be promoting your cars all the time. Simply generating a regular presence on social media and building up relationships with anyone and everyone really can pay dividends in the long run.
We were selling the MX-5 as part of our charity challenge to turn £0 into a Porsche 911 by 2011. The second of our pairing is currently on eBay and finishes this Wednesday. You can view the auction here.
James
