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WPW#3 – How Dealers United Is Using WordPress to Run A Multi-Million Dollar Online Business


WordPress Wednesday is sponsored by zoing.ly


In this episode we interview Pete Petersen, the CEO of Dealers United.

We dive deep into the details of how they use WordPress to manage their multi-million dollar operation and intricately explore the inner workings of their entire online marketing strategy.

We explore the mechanics of inbound marketing, break down the components of the sales funnel at a high level, and get into the nitty gritty of generating, qualifying, and converting online leads.


Dealers United provides auto dealers with quality products, services and online support, at a discount by leveraging the collective buying power of their growing dealer network.

If you are in Sarasota, you can attend these Interviews in person. Learn more on our MeetUp page.


Show Notes

1:14 – Meet Pete

Learn about Pete’s Background, and why he is qualified to be the CEO of a Multi-Million dollar software startup. Pete also describes the basics of Dealers United, and how they help auto dealerships sell more cars.

2:48 – Why WordPress

Pete explains why he chose to switch the DU website over to WordPress when he took over as CEO.

“I realized real quick that we had to switch to a platform that would allow us to generate more inbound leads, and allow our sales team to have more conversations with our customers about the problems they were solving.”

5:16 – Educating the consumer

I ask Pete how WordPress allows them to use education as a sales tool, how they approach inbound marketing, and why it’s so important to take the time to create quality online content .

8:25 – Introducing the sales funnel

Get the specifics of their top-of-funnel conversion tactics and how Dealers United attracts new leads.
12:28 – How to transition from educating to selling a prospect

Pete explains that to get people further down the sales funnel and explains how they use webinars to take their prospects from marketing qualified lead, to sales qualified lead.

14:40 – The value of evergreen content

We discuss the specifics of how Dealers United sets their content strategy, how they track their leads through the sales funnel, and why evergreen content is so important to all of it.

16:40 – “I’m trying to build a relationship”

How answering questions helps you build relationships with your customers and why relationships are vital to making online sales.

19:31 – The bottom of the funnel

How do you track and measure performance online?

“The number one thing we do is set goals!” – Pete talks about how they use Google Analytics to create online goals so that they can accurately track a user’s progress through their website.

23:48 – What tools do you use? 

Learn what plugins Dealers United uses on their WordPress install.

Hint:

29:00 – WordPress is a tool

Pete still hacks his way through WordPress once in awhile, and I take some time to point out that this is one of the reasons I love WordPress so much. Because it allows non-developers like myself, to go in and manipulate the web, and as a marketer, that becomes a very powerful sales tool.

This is a good section to listen in on if you are using WordPress and wondering whether or not you are using it right. And as we explain in the interview, there is really no wrong way to use WordPress as long as you are not modifying its core functionality.

32:00 – What I think is beautiful about WordPress

Pete specifically describes how much he appreciates the ease at which you can find people who are proficient in WordPress, and how much that helps them when it comes to outsourcing parts of their operation and managing their content marketing strategy.
33:08 – Q&A

Pete sticks around to answer questions about how they pick the content they create, gets deeper into the meaning of Evergreen content and fields other questions from the crowd about how WordPress helps them kick ass online.

41:14 – Is blogging dead?

Someone from the crowd asks if we think that blogging is dead and both Pete and I chime in on this topic. What do you think? is blogging dead?

Leave your thoughts in the comment below, and if you got any value out of this video, feel free to share it with a friend. It’s the best compliment you could ever give me.

WPW#2 – Mason James – Making Money With WordPress

WordPress Wednesday is sponsored by zoing.ly


Last week I (Raymmar Tirado) interviewed Mason James, the founder of Valet.io (formerly WordPress Valet) as part of our WordPress Wednesday Interview Series.

The interview explores his personal WordPress journey, and is filled with insights on how to run a successful WordPress based business.


Valet.io works with brands like Etsy, TimeInc, Nvidia, Harvard University, Mixergy, and more, and is well respected in the WordPress community for top tier development and support services.

If you are looking to start a WordPress business, or want to learn more about how to grow and scale your WordPress business then this might be a good place to start.

If you are in Sarasota, you can attend these MeetUps in person. Learn more on our MeetUp page.


Show Notes

1:45 – Starting out as a freelancer

We start out by talking about the path from freelancer to entrepreneur.

4:15 – Picking WordPress as a platform

I asked Mason how he decided to pick WordPress as the platform for him to build his online business.

6:10 – Getting involved in the WordPress community 

Mason and I dive into the importance of the WordPress community, and talk about how people can get involved in the WordPress community, and why it is such a large part of WordPress success.

13:30 – Breaking the freelancer gap

I asked Mason how he made the jump from freelancer to full fledge business owner. We dive into how he landed his first clients, how he hired his first employees and more.

15:30 – Getting your first customer

We dive deeper into prospecting, networking and getting started as a small business owner.

17:25 – Biting off more than you can chew

Sometimes you have to get a little ambitious when you are trying to build your own business, but that can definitely backfire on you in the online world. Get advice on staying within your core competencies, and how to learn as you grow.

20:18 – To pick a niche or not

Some people swear by the idea that you have to specialize in order to be successful, so I wanted to know what Mason thought about being a generalist, or picking a specific niche.

20:54 – The main goal of any website

If there is one part of this interview which you should listen to, it is this section. In it Mason goes over his process for assessing websites, and outlines the order in which they approach website optimization.

24:29 – I hire people to do the things I suck at

Mason explains how he hires employees, and more specifically, how he hired his first employee. He also dives into his philosophy on how he hires people, and how he vets candidates.

28:48 – Internet freeing people to become their own boss

Mason and I discuss the power of the internet, and how it is empowering more people than ever to go out and become their own boss.

30:07 – You have to fail a lot

It wouldn’t be a proper interview if we didn’t spend some time talking about failure. Listen as Mason explains why failure is such an important part of starting and running a successful business.

34:49 – Creative processes deserve their own brain cycles

Towards the end of the interview, we dive into the creative side of running the business, and talk about the importance of spending time creating quality content, and connecting with a social audience in order to grow your online business.

44:55 – Quantifying the value and getting the money

We end the show by talking about how to stand up for what you are worth, how to set your rates, and discuss how to make sure people understand the value you are providing.

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