Generating more opportunities from e-leads and phone calls from customers is critical to the success of a dealership if it is willing to use updated strategies that include immediate replies and videos, said an expert in the field.
Hector Bosotti, National Trainer and Consultant at Wye Management, provided some strategies during a June 13 presentation at Canada’s Used Car Week Conference in Toronto, Ont.
In an interview with Canadian auto dealer, Bosotti said that since the COVID pandemic, many customers are either calling or emailing a dealership before they arrive to save a lot of time — primarily because of the inventory shortage. He said dealerships need to do a better job of booking appointments, rather than simply trying to get customers into the store.
“Customers will move on and deal with dealerships that help them get through their buying process and don’t provide roadblocks,” said Bosotti. “Do we need to treat this customer with an updated strategy? The answer is absolutely yes.” He offered some “power” tips to help with the appointment process.
“We’re going to suggest you can sell an appointment by providing unique features and benefits that other dealers do not offer,” said Bosotti. “If a BDC operator or specialist can get an appointment, a professional sales consultant needs to sell an appointment to get a customer to want to come in.”
“Effective selling provides facts and information that gets a customer to do what you want them to do. So we need to sell an appointment, not just get an appointment. That’s the difference and perhaps a good tip to take back to your team,” he added.
He said an e-lead inquiry or sales call is just as important for salespeople as a showroom customer and needs to be dealt with the same level of interest, effort, and urgency. He also said the goal or reply of a dealership to an e-lead is to “engage the customer” by developing a conversation and a relationship, and to provide “unique reasons” to gain a showroom appointment.
“All data tells us that the first dealership to respond to the customer has a significant advantage moving forward and (will) likely secure the sale,” said Bosotti. He said any time a customer provides their phone number on their signature line, a reply should be provided immediately and followed by a call.
He said whenever you can take an elite customer off-line and migrate to a voice-to-voice communication, it increases the chances of gaining an appointment. And telephoning a customer lets the customer know the salesperson or manager better, helping to develop a more “adhesive” relationship.
Bosotti also said that sales consultants can reply with a “hello” video and a telephone call answering the bulk of the information a customer is seeking. An original video of 60-90 seconds taken by the salesperson, a quick car walkaround, or a link to a great video review is also helpful.
