Trace Ordiway

I have been in sales and marketing since 1983. I started in modular homes (retail and wholesale), then commercial printing, then production homebuilding (retail), then high tech (multi-media and eLearning software), and, finally, automobiles.

I got into car sales the way many people do; out of necessity. The infamous dot.com crash of 2000 was followed 18 months later by 9/11 of 2001. Those two back-to-back events wiped out all my clients and my high tech career went with them. One day in 2003 I picked up the paper and saw that an old friend was opening the first freestanding Subaru dealership in north Texas. I ran down there and begged him for a job. And that's where it all began.

From August 2018 through June 2021 I was an Internet sales & communications trainer and consultant for ShiftDigital's Subaru field team. Prior to that, in January 2010 I joined the Ford/Lincoln/FordDirect digital consulting team.

Prior to joining the Ford-Lincoln Digital Team I was an Internet Salesman at Boardwalk Volkswagen, at the time the largest VW store in north Texas. During my stay there I was "Salesman of the Month" four times and, for 2009, I was Boardwalk's "Salesman of the Year." This marked the first time that an "Internet Guy" earned the SOTY award at this store.

Before that I was the Internet Sales Manager at Subaru of Dallas (TX). In both 2007 and 2006 I was recognized by Subaru as a "Top 20 Salesperson" in the South/Central region, receiving the Subaru Summit "Peak Performer" award in 2007 and the Sales Stars "Silver Award" in 2006. Both years I was one of only three "Internet Guys" to get these awards.

While at Boardwalk Volkswagen:

- I wrote my own email follow-up templates and email/phone follow-up schedule.

- Managed the store's eBay sales efforts.

- Conducted regular mystery shops of area VW franchise stores.

- Started an industry blog to share best practice Internet sales and merchandising strategies. http://ordiway2.blogspot.com/

While at Subaru of Dallas:

- I personally customized the dealership's Cobalt website, doing all the HTML graphics, text and layout work.

- Managed two online used car salesmen.

- Shot photos for new and used cars.

- Started a blog to educate consumers on the workings of the retail car business. http://ordiway.blogspot.com/

- Directed the store's Google AdWords and organic SEO efforts.

- Managed the store's eBay sales efforts.

- Was a volunteer beta tester and consultant to Subaru and Cobalt during a national website changeover.

- Single-handedly built and launched an online Subaru store DiscountSubaru.com that turned out to be ahead of its time (and ultimately failed).

Along with my successes I have made plenty of mistakes, some of them near-fatal. So, not only have I learned what works in Internet car sales, I have also learned what does not work. If you give me the opportunity, I believe you will find that I know how to help you convert more of your leads into sales appointments.

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