L. James Johnson Bio (the BayAreaCarGuy)
L. James Johnson is the owner and founder of BayAreaCarGuy.com and author of the new book:
HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! – NEW RULES For Selling Your Vehicle Online!
HELP! NOW! and BayAreaCarGuy.com provide tools for dealers and private sellers to market their vehicles online quickly and profitably.
More about James:
- L. James Johnson joined the car industry late in life after a successful career in radio and TV Journalism. He later owned and operated three companies simultaneously: a manufactured housing sales company and two property management firms.
- Within six months of joining the car industry he attained top sales status. He had one of the highest Consumer Satisfaction Index (CSI) ratings in the district – above national average.
- After advancing to Internet Manager, James drew heavily on his experience in both business and Journalism to perfect the NEW RULES of selling cars online, which led to the publication of HELP! NOW!
- This is the first time all this information has been concisely packaged together in one book that’s essential for private sellers AND car dealers.
You can visit his website at www.BayAreaCarGuy.com.
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
Sell Car Online Guide Available for First Time
For Immediate Release – November 30, 2009
The First Comprehensive Guide to Selling Vehicles Online Just Released
Berkeley, California, USA – L. James Johnson has announced that his new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car – New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! has just been released for download at www.BayAreaCarGuy.com.
Johnson describes HELP! NOW! as combining his New Rules for selling vehicles online with time-honored Best Practices from the car industry. He developed the New Rules while an Internet Manager for a major car dealer. The New Rules were designed to help dealers and private sellers move beyond Old School sales and marketing tactics that hinder attempts to use the Internet effectively when selling cars, trucks, and SUVs.
Johnson says, “Dealers benefit the most from the New Rules because many simply don’t understand that a new approach is needed to use the Internet effectively.” He goes onto say, “Private sellers will use both the New Rules and the car industry’s Best Practices for pricing cars, handling inquiries, performing a vehicle walk around, staying safe during the test drive, and negotiating price, to name a few.”
L. James Johnson joined the car industry late in life after a successful career in radio and TV Journalism. He later owned and operated three businesses simultaneously. Within six months of joining the car industry he attained top sales status. He had one of the highest Consumer Satisfaction Index (CSI) ratings in the district - above national average. After advancing to Internet Manager, James drew heavily on his experience in both business and Journalism to perfect the New Rules of selling cars online, which led to the publication of HELP! NOW!
This is the first time that a comprehensive A through Z guide to selling a car or truck online is available to car dealers or private sellers.
Contact:
L. James Johnson
Owner, www.BayAreaCarGuy.com
Berkeley, CA 94702
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
HELP! NOW! is Ready for Download!
I began writing HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! in March 2009. The 142-page eBook went live on my website (www.BayAreaCarGuy.com) at 1am this morning.
On my home page you can download sample chapters to get a sense of what the book is about – or download the complete book for $27. You can even view the Sales page. This very detailed web page outlines ALL the benefits of the book and provides a link to purchase it.
Gratitude
I am so thankful to my editor, David Carr (www.MovingWords.us), and marketing consultant, Tomar Levine (www.YourTimeToBloom.com), for the endless hours each put into this project.
However, writers and online marketers reading this know that now that the book itself is finished the real work begins. In the case of HELP! NOW! my website acts as a companion resource that itself required tons of work to get up to speed. It will take ongoing effort to keep it current and on point.
The other area that, in this moment, feels like a black hole for time and effort is marketing HELP! NOW! online. Yes I have a game plan and yes, there is more work than time to do it. But what fun! What a joy to engage in this project at this level. What a thrill to be working with the caliber of people I find myself surrounded with.
And what potential lies ahead.
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
Shipping a Car for All the Right Reasons
There are many reasons to ship a vehicle across the state, the country, or even around the world.
Moving to change your residence is just one of them.
As a dealer, I often worked with buyers who were looking for either the best deal they could find or specialty cars, and shipping costs were simply part of the deal. This was especially common for buyers looking on eBay Motors. Many wouldn’t think twice about buying a car on the other side of the country as long as the figures made sense.
Shipping cars, trucks, or SUVs these days is both easy and reasonably price.
There aren’t many large, national shipping companies that I trust my car to. The one that I recommend is Dependable Auto Shippers
DAS is license, insured, and boasts over 50-years experience. AND it’s easy to get a quote to make sure you’re getting the best deal available. Simply click on Get An Auto Transport Quote.
Shipping a vehicle is now an established procedure. Use Dependable Auto Shippers to make sure you’re getting the best price and the most experienced company to look after your vehicle, if it’s across town or on the other side of the country.
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
The links I provide are often affiliate links that I receive a commission from if you click thru and purchase a product. I appreciate the support as this allows me the resources and time to develop my website (www.BayAreaCarGuy.com) and funds the development of my next book. See my video explanation at http://bayareacarguy.com/sell-car-online-thanks-for-the-click/.
Getting Your Car Ready for Sale
Major auto dealers sell millions of dollars of used cars every month. They make their vehicles as clean, tidy, polished, and attractive as possible. Some call it “curb appeal.” It works!
Whether you are selling a luxury sedan or an old clunker: a clean and spiffed-up vehicle will sell quicker and for more money than one with halitosis – unwashed, grimy, and strewn with unwanted papers and moldy fast food containers. You want to seduce your potential buyer, not turn them off with a bad first impression. It’s worth the time and effort to do it right.
Be appropriate for the value and condition of your vehicle. For example, a quick wash and vacuum is probably all that is needed for a $1200 Ford Taurus. However, if you are selling an $8,000 Toyota Camry, you probably want to invest in a wax job and deeper cleaning from grille to trunk. For a Lexus or Escalade, even more tasteful care is needed.
No matter what you want to sell, do what is appropriate for your vehicle. Fronting the cash to have it detailed by a professional may pay for itself ? and even put money in your pocket. Basic services run from $15 to $50, and $100 to $300 for a full-service, professional detail job that will leave it sparkling inside and out. Don’t be shy with a professional detailer: request a price quote. Then call around for the best deal – with them, you are a buyer.
HELP! NOW!
Why go to all the work of taking photos of your car, writing a great ad, and posting it on sites like Craigslist, Kijiji, AutoTrader or Cars.com if it looks dingy when a buyer comes to look at it.
If you have other questions about:
- how to be safe on the test drive
- what form of payment is recommended (hint: don’t take personal checks)
- how to price your vehicle so you don’t leave money on the table
- how to complete the paperwork
See my new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW!
HELP! NOW! walk you through the NEW RULES for selling your vehicle online.
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
Simple HTML Formatting
Want to dress up your online ad? Use simple HTML tags in your Craigslist and other classified site postings to add formatting to the text. HTML tags in bold.
Bold
This text is <b>bold</b>.
- This text is bold.
Italics
I used <i>italics</i>.
- I used italics.
Underline
I <u>underlined</u> a word.
- I underlined a word.
Increase Font Size
I can make text <big>bigger</big>.
- I can make text bigger.
Decrease Font Size
I can make text <small> smaller</small>.
- I can make text smaller.
Center
<center>I can center this sentence.</center>
I can center this sentence.
Indent
I can indent and add italics to this <blockquote>sentence</blockquote>.
I can indent this sentence.
Make A List
My Honda Civic has extra features:
<ul>
<li>moon roof</li>
<li>alloy wheels</li>
<li>6-CD changer</li>
</ul>
- My Honda Civic has extra features:
- moon roof
- alloy wheels
- 6-CD changer
Links to Other Pages/Websites
I can create links to <a href=”http://www.bayareacarguy.com/tools/”>handy tools</a> that come in handy when selling your car online.
- I can create links to handy tools that come in handy when selling your car online.
Adding a Photo
I can add an extra picture of my car: <img src=”http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt94/ljamesjohnson/Porche.jpg”>
- I can add an extra picture of my car:
Font Colors
This is <font color=”red”>fun </font> because I can change <font color=”green”>font colors</font>.
- This is fun because I can change font colors.
I can also use <font color=”black”>black</font>.
- I can also use black.
Or <font color=”blue”>blue</font>.
- Or blue.
Or <font color=”fuchsia”>fuchsia</font>.
- Or fuchsia.
Or <font color=”maroon”>maroon</font>.
- Or maroon.
Or <font color=”navy”>navy</font>.
- Or navy.
Or <font color=”olive”>olive</font>.
- Or olive.
Or <font color=”purple”>purple</font>.
- Or purple.
And I can use <font color=”teal”>teal</font>.
- And I can use teal.
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
backpage.com – An Up and Coming Classified Website!
We all know that Craigslist is the towering giant among free online classified websites. Over 50 million unique visitors land on Craigslist each month making it the 8th largest website in the U.S., and the 24th largest in the world.
Does this mean that you should rush out and post your car, truck, or SUV only on Craigslist? The answer depends on where you live. Classified websites offer a local approach for selling to local buyers. This means that Craigslist is not the leader in all U.S. markets. In fact, it comes in number three in some markets.
One of the up and comers giving Craigslist a run for their money is backpage.com.
I like working with backpage.com because I have an affinity for my local San Francisco Bay Area alternative weekly. backpage.com is owned by the original alternative newspaper, New York’s Village Voice, but your ad may be displayed along with classified ads from the back of many local papers including my SF Weekly, the LA Weekly, City Pages (Minneapolis), and the Seattle Weekly.
backpage.com online ads are free, but you have the option of paying a fee to add your post to the local, printed newspaper and to post online in multiple cities.
I recommend using Craigslist as a strategic site to post your online vehicle ad, but don’t forget about backpage.com. Remember the “mud on the wall” theory:
You never know when that last post on some obscure website will generate a phone inquiry about car.
Be smart and begin with the largest, high-traffic sites in your area, but why not use as many free sites as you have time and energy for. That includes backpage.com. After all, it’s free, right!
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
