Marsha, you truly made my day yesterday and I'm so glad you shared your story on the AIS Website. Thank you all for your feedback and involvement in the Website. We truly do love hearing from you, and your experiences, and hopefully you love hearing from us here at Dealer Synergy just as much! :)
The beautiful part about our jobs in Automotive Internet Sales is that the sky is the limit, and we always have room for improvement. We are constantly looking for new ways and techniques to get our numbers up, and make MORE MONEY. So what can we do to get better results OTHER than simply get more leads?
Well, let's think outside the box and work a little bit smarter with the leads we DO have.
1) Snail mail
Yes, I did just say it! With all of our technology these days, sometimes we forget to drop a nice hand-written letter in the mail, thanking our customer for their opportunity to earn their business. That's what they use to do in the "dinosaur age" of car sales. Include a voucher, discount card or "free gift with test drive" insert in your card, and this may drive traffic with a different sort of person that is not very savvy with the computer, but did manage to submit a lead to you and show interest. Be sure to include instruction to “bring this letter with you” somewhere in your mailing so you can track results.
2) Send a friend
Everyone needs extra holiday spending money this time of year. Another insert in your mailer - or in your phone call or your email - may remind them that even if they are not ready to buy, if they know a co-worker, friend or family member that is looking to purchase a vehicle, they will get a bonus. Check with management to see if and how much of a referral fee you can offer, which varies by state and dealership. If you can't give a cash reward, you can find a way to reward your prospects with a gift card or something acceptable for thinking of you even before they were ready to buy themselves. It may even help you close your original lead later down the road!
3) Previous customers
Unless you are completely brand new to the business, you have some "SOLD" customers from last month, the month before, etc. Well, CALL THEM! When you call them to say hello, make sure that they love their car, remind them an oil change may be due soon and wish them a happy holiday season; happen to mention your referral bonus, too. Don't make it sound like you are only calling for a deal. Be courteous and sincere in caring about their purchase, and wanting them to do service with your dealer, and I bet more than half of the people you have already done business with, when asked, would be happy to recommend at least one friend that you can reach out to and offer an appointment to come see you.
Make sure you have a plan to review your leads and retain your customers for life! Get into a habit at the end of the month grind, or your beginning of the month re-group to do these things that may be able to produce you a few deals, and all you are doing is working the same leads a little harder that are right there in front of you all along!
Happy selling...and always be closing!
Andy Fedo
andy@dealersynergy.com
The beautiful part about our jobs in Automotive Internet Sales is that the sky is the limit, and we always have room for improvement. We are constantly looking for new ways and techniques to get our numbers up, and make MORE MONEY. So what can we do to get better results OTHER than simply get more leads?
Well, let's think outside the box and work a little bit smarter with the leads we DO have.
1) Snail mail
Yes, I did just say it! With all of our technology these days, sometimes we forget to drop a nice hand-written letter in the mail, thanking our customer for their opportunity to earn their business. That's what they use to do in the "dinosaur age" of car sales. Include a voucher, discount card or "free gift with test drive" insert in your card, and this may drive traffic with a different sort of person that is not very savvy with the computer, but did manage to submit a lead to you and show interest. Be sure to include instruction to “bring this letter with you” somewhere in your mailing so you can track results.
2) Send a friend
Everyone needs extra holiday spending money this time of year. Another insert in your mailer - or in your phone call or your email - may remind them that even if they are not ready to buy, if they know a co-worker, friend or family member that is looking to purchase a vehicle, they will get a bonus. Check with management to see if and how much of a referral fee you can offer, which varies by state and dealership. If you can't give a cash reward, you can find a way to reward your prospects with a gift card or something acceptable for thinking of you even before they were ready to buy themselves. It may even help you close your original lead later down the road!
3) Previous customers
Unless you are completely brand new to the business, you have some "SOLD" customers from last month, the month before, etc. Well, CALL THEM! When you call them to say hello, make sure that they love their car, remind them an oil change may be due soon and wish them a happy holiday season; happen to mention your referral bonus, too. Don't make it sound like you are only calling for a deal. Be courteous and sincere in caring about their purchase, and wanting them to do service with your dealer, and I bet more than half of the people you have already done business with, when asked, would be happy to recommend at least one friend that you can reach out to and offer an appointment to come see you.
Make sure you have a plan to review your leads and retain your customers for life! Get into a habit at the end of the month grind, or your beginning of the month re-group to do these things that may be able to produce you a few deals, and all you are doing is working the same leads a little harder that are right there in front of you all along!
Happy selling...and always be closing!
Andy Fedo
andy@dealersynergy.com
Comments
Thanks Kelly! Glad you got something out of it, and to share with your department!
Great refresher, sometimes we get too busy selling cars to sell cars. Utilizing all our sources of contact is always good this time of year.
Good to hear that you already do Nicole....and see results too! Especially this time of the year when holiday cards are going around...and all mail isn't BAD mail :) Hand writing always has a better chance of the customer opening it up and another easy (and cheap) way to get contact.
Great Article Andy!!
I have been hand writing post cards to my customers and have been getting a lot of feedback as of lately. Customers really seem to appreciate that we take time out of our day to hand write them a letter or post card! I would recommend this method to anyone in the Automotive Industry.