My Grandfather was a man of few words. (I am not much like him in that respect.) When he did speak everyone listened. He would speak his mind and it was usually words of infinite wisdom. He was a farmer in the Ozarks of Missouri and I guess he got that way due to all the time he spent alone in his fields. I remember as a little boy, a conversation he had with my Grandmother. My Grandmother asked my Grandfather why he told her only once in all their 45 years of marriage that he loved her. My Grandfather's reply was very simple. "I told you I loved you once and that was good enough. It's when I tell you I don't love you is when you have to start worrying."
I have often thought of this conversation. The average ISM will attempt to contact the customer after a request maybe only once whether by phone or email. The customer is often left wondering if the dealership really cares if they buy from them or not. They may have gotten your message that you called, but lack of follow up will leave them wondering after that. Looking from my Grandmother's point of view, she went all those years knowing my Grandfather loved her because he showed her with actions. But she still had that need to hear it.
The more personal information you are able to gather during that first contact will enable you to have greater insight into their needs and wants. Spend time with them on the phone as if you have been friends for years. It will ease the tension of buying a car and enable you to better serve their needs. This will build trust authority, trust, link juice, Google juice: The amount of trust that a site is credited with for a particular search query. Authority/trust is derived from related incoming links from other trusted sites. that cannot be accomplished anywhere else in the sales process. This is a major difference from the conventional customer.
Show them a reason why their personal needs will be fulfilled up front and you have won the battle. You can show them, as my Grandfather did, that you care for their needs after they come in. But you only get one shot at telling them upfront their needs are important. They will sense it and willingly accept showing them you care after their arrival at the dealership.
You can call it corny or attempt to brush it off, but the plain truth is that Internet internet: customers are a lot like my Grandmother. It was always more important that she felt loved than to hear it. That is why she stayed with my Grandfather for so many years without hearing those words. She felt safe and secure.
I miss my Grandfather even today. He told me he loved me once.
About the Author
Dennis Rushing is one of the true pioneers in Automotive Internet internet: Dennis has personally sold over 4300 vehicles through the Internet internet: which makes him easily one of the most successful ISMs in automotive history.
