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Automotive Sales Consultants Urged to Hone Online Sales Practices

Predicament

• Online automotive retail sales has good news, bad news
  
• Good news: 56% of online leads received by Automotive Sales Consultants result in sale
  
• Bad news: of 56%, 92% buy from different dealership than with original lead
  
• Says Cobalt Group, online marketing/website provider for auto industry
  
• Over 15 months, Cobalt evaluated 1M+ leads sent to 1,329 dealers; RL Polk matched sales
  
• Shows 76% of lost opportunities bought another brand new vehicle or used vehicle
  
  Significance

• Automotive Sales Consultants losing many potential sales online; losing to another brand
  
• Has to do with the quality of Automotive Sales Consultants response to lead
  
• Automotive Sales Consultants shouldn't be afraid to give price to customer
  
• Provide more information on more vehicles; give customer choice
  
• Respond to leads faster; call within few minutes of sending first email
  
• First thing Automotive Sales Consultants can do is answer customer's questions
  
  PHONE TECHNIQUES
  
  Automotive Sales Consultants with the right phone skills are an essential part of the process of—getting Internet customers from the computer, to the phone, to your showroom. Intimate knowledge of your inventory, honesty, and consistent customer service are proven ways to turn Internet leads into sales.
  
  When consumers find an Internet listing and pick up the phone to call your dealership, the first thing they want to know is if the car they are interested in is still available. Once that is established, they want to hear more about the car, but at the same time they are also getting a feel for your dealership and how you treat potential customers. Without a process for answering the questions of the information-hungry Internet consumer, you could lose a potential sale within minutes.
  
  That is why being open and honest is just as essential as having knowledge about your inventory. If you don't know the answer, you should tell the customer you'll find it for them.
  
  If a customer has questions about a particular car on your lot, find a cordless phone and walk over to the car. Stand next to or sit in the car while talking to them. Tell them, “I'm sitting in your car right now; it's right here waiting for you.” Taking extra steps can be the deciding factor to choose your dealership as the one they buy from.
  
  When you have to call them back keep this in mind
  
  What's in it for you ?
  
  Establish rapport with your prospect by clarifying the reason for your call
  
  After you take the pressure off your consumer, you should follow with a brief, hard-hitting statement that explains why you have called. Do not, however, describe any of the benefits that you will present later.
  
  I know you weren’t expecting me to call you back, but there's a couple reasons I wanted to touch base with you.
  Some possible purposes for your call are:
  
  Think of other clear, concise ways to explain your purpose to your customer.   First, I wanted to thank you
  for calling.
  
• To follow up to see if a direct mail piece was received. . .
  
• To mention a person who referred you to this prospect. . .
  
• To follow up on the phone call they made or internet query.....
  
• To follow up on the prospect's response to your company's advertising.
  
  I appreciate your interest. But the second reason is I was hoping to tell you a little bit more about the vehicle or when it
  would be a good time to set up an appointment.
  
  Would it be OK if I told you a little bit more about it?"
  
  Or when you can get them  both together him and her if at all possible so you can overcome any objections
  at that time.
  
  Four things with this approach that work in just about any setting. First it identifies you with them. Second, it
  shows you appreciate them. Third, it demonstrates you want to serve them. Fourth be respectful and asks
  permission to continue. If they don’t want you to, end the conversation. If they want you to continue start building
  rapport!
  
  The other thing is they almost always will thanked you for calling! Why?  Because most automotive sales
  consultants never follow-up!  So this customer-service-minded approach creates the perfect positioning because
  it does four things:
  
• It identifies with your prospect's experience - by saying, "I know you weren't expecting me to call you
  back," you step into their shoes. You begin to disarm them and get them to lower their sales resistance.
  
• It expresses appreciation - by saying "First, I wanted to thank you for calling about ____. I really appreciate
  your interest," you make them feel valued. And everybody likes to be appreciated and feel smart and
  special. Then...
  
• It expresses a desire to "be of service first" - by saying "In 30-45 seconds we can't tell you all that
  much about the vehicle, and I was hoping to show you a little bit more about it, when may we get together,"
  you clearly express your desire to put service first.And finally it...
  
• It politely respects their right to say "no" - by asking "Would it be OK if I showed you a little bit more about
  the vehicle?" you're using "Permission-Based" selling. Instead of trying to force yourself on them, you help
  build the trust level because you're asking permission to share more information.
  
  Notice the delicate crafting of the language, how you gently use words like "customer service...as a courtesy...
  hoping to tell you more...would it be OK?" These are all very carefully chosen words that open up doors for you.
  
  Now tell them more. Have a list of comparable vehicles you can talk about. And be of service. Focus on the
  prospect and not your agenda. Serve them first, and you will get plenty of appointments. The idea is to provide
  additional information. Give them benefits and reasons for your call.
  
  Help them with their questions, send them photos, and then schedule them an appointment to visit your dealership. Give them options: “What time of day works for you?  Evenings? Great. Would this Tuesday or Thursday work better?” Call them to confirm. Keep them informed about the status of “their” car, but with a sense of urgency:  “It’s still available and is on the lot now.”
  
  So to Recap...
  
  When you get a lead:
  
• Your first goal is "rapport". Once you have rapport,
  
• Demonstrate your willingness to serve by sending them information and following up. Then...
  
• Immediately after sending them information, follow-up and engage them in a process that will get you face-to-face as quickly as possible.
  
  I realize this thought process is very basic and fundamental but frequently even seasoned, highly-skilled automotive sales consultants drift away from these basic fundamentals and miss significant opportunities.
  
  Again, once you have rapport, demonstrate you are a "servant" and move toward getting face-to-face. If they aren't willing to get face-to-face, you may not really have a prospect. You may just have someone who is dreaming or is a 6-12 month prospect.
  
  If you find through this phase of qualifying them and softly attempting to get face-to-face your prospects are further out (6-12 months or more) you may need to back off and just plug them into your monthly contact follow-up system. And if you don't have a monthly contact follow-up system, you need to get one.
  
  Again, it's all about relationships and the next step in the relationship process has to be getting one-on-one, face-to-face as quickly as possible.
  
  PHONE TECHNIQUES Part 2
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