Engaging your customer with your long term email follow-up

A question (or 2) that I get all the time..

“Jeff, what do you recommend for long term email follow up?”

or, my favorite..

“What email templates do you have for long term email follow-up”.

According to the latest 2008 Automotive eShopper Experience Study by the Cobalt Group.

“The “traditional” dealership sales process assumes the prospect will remain “in market” for approximately 3 days. Studies reflects that a high number of dealerships are pushing prospects through a process built around customer contact for a period of 72 hours with no plan or intention to follow up longer. The dealership assumes that the prospect is out of market and gives up well before the prospect completes their purchase process.”

Three DAYS! That’s it? After 3 days, I guess there’s no need to follow-up with that customer. We’ll assume they’ve bought elsewhere or are no longer in the market and be done with it..NEXT!

I’m all about the low hanging fruit, but come’on.

What is your dealers process for long term email follow-up?

This is going to be a short post because for me there is only 1 effective answer. INVENTORY!

A customer is initially contacting you for 2 reasons, INVENTORY and PRICING. So why would this NOT be part of your dealerships long term email follow up strategy?

Quit sending “Are you still in the market?” emails. Assume they are and start sending your customers new arrival inventory. New and Used, because you never know what what the customer is going to buy. Heck, pick out something that’s been on the lot for a while and was just discounted (you know, that nice none core vehicle your used car manager decided to actually discount after 90 days).

“John, I know it’s been 3 days since I sent you an email, but I was thinking about you when we traded in this beautiful 2005 BMW 335i. It’s showcased in the metallic black over black leather interior. It’s 1 Owner and serviced here at the dealer. I have all the records and have attached the CarFax for you to review.

Would you like me to send you more information on this beautiful BMW??”

Engage your customer with your long term email follow-up and quit sending those canned bull shit template emails.

Oh, and for you Internet sales people that resend the same email template over and over and over because the customer never answered the first one, AND your being too lazy to type out another email, STOP! There’s a reason why the customer didn’t answer you the first time! AND it’s not because they’re no longer in the market.

Engage your customer with your emails. Show the customer that you are eager to serve them while willing to provide information that will help them make the right decision. Let the customer tell you “NO, I don’t want that car!”, it’s OK, you at least got a response and something to work with.

Don’t forget to read Seth Godins “How to send a personal email”

What is your dealers process for long term email follow-up?

Consider who Obama was going up against; a Veteran, a Maverick, the old trusty Ford that has been turning it’s wheels for a long time.

To me it resembles the dealer down the road that has been around for over 30 years, sorta doing the same thing over and over. They’re not a bad dealer, maybe family owned, their reputation is average to above but their customer base has slowly dwindled. Their marketing and lack of consistency no longer speaks to today’s consumer.

America has changed over the last 12 months. For the first time in our History we are about to have our first Black President. A true symbol of shift and adjustment across our land.

We have seen a shift in our business as well. This shift has been taking place for some time now. And of course with the economic status, we have seen a deeper change over the last 8-10 months.

As maybe a lesson for dealers (us); Is there anything we can learn from a Presidential Campaign that will mold into the history books.

1. Have a Clear and Simple Message.

Obama’s message was clear and precise. “Change”. He treasured the weakness of his opponent/s and voiced a message [slogan] that resonated with the majority. A simple message for simple Americans, a message that we all wanted to hear.

2. Keep Consistent

Obama was consistent with his message and process. He found his message early and stayed true to it, never letting off. There was no going back to the drawing board in a relentless search for the magic bullet.

3. Brand Yourself (like a rockstar)

Obama’s logo, slogan, understanding of social media and technology were considered flawless. Obama become a brand while also becoming an effective force across America. His brand and persona helped fuel his strategy.

4. Perfect your Marketing Mix

Obama and his campaign team was able to fully leverage every avenue of marketing. From traditional to online marketing, his consistent message was heard abroad. They had a true understanding of Web 2.0 and was able to touch, embrace and engage voters across America using social-media channels.

5. Build Raving Fans

Using the tools of Web 2.0, Obama was able to build a pure fan base across all 50 states. This empowered him to plant and mobilize raving fans in amongst the competition. He harnessed the power of today’s online social word of mouth, recognizing it’s impact of immenseness.

Dig deep into underlying characteristics that has fueled Obamas success. He was able to create a passionate audience by speaking, engaging and listening to the people. He had a process, a message that became apart of his “brand” and image.

What is your dealers message, what is your dealers brand, are you truly engaging with your customers?

I didn’t vote for Obama, but I have a full understanding why so many Americans did and now that he is going to be our President he has my full support (unless he effs it up of course).

Your thoughts..

Guest post by Mike Keesee

With the right phone process and practices the BDC is your #1 weapon.

When I first took on my position as the Business Development Center (BDC) Manager at my dealership, one of my goals was to develop this stellar, non stoppable phone script that no customer could ever object to. My eyes were quickly opened when I found myself modifying script after script and re-training my BDC Representatives through every change.

Sounding like a stereotypical car dealer is hard to overcome. Consumers have a perception of “car salesmen” already. The best practices for a BDC department are, roll-playing and defining skills. Fact is the more you practice these skills and overcoming objections the more confident BDC representatives become.

A Business Development Center should be able to adapt and make people feel comfortable, at ease and excited to do business with the dealer. At the frustration of not wanting to sound robotic consider (Human Instinct). Often the script would cause conversations that almost feel confrontational with the customer. It leads to an appointment that have NO intention of showing up. They tend to agree to avoid resistance.

There have been other BDC Departments that praise scripts. I’m not saying to scratch the whole method to script. I am simply suggesting changing the process. BDC representatives should use a guide and fine tune their skills. Focus on transition phrases. “It really depends” and “By the way” are a few that I practice. For example if the customer asks “How much would I need for a down payment?” I would simply reply:

“It really depends on other factors such as which financing options you choose and if the terms meet your budget. We will do our best to ensure that you get the lowest down payment that we can offer”.

Also focus on obtaining the customers contact information and making them feel comfortable with directions to the dealership. Your goal is to always make an appointment that will show up. Another tip that I have found is before ending the call simply tell the customer that

“as a courtesy, we will call you to remind you of your appointment.”

You will be surprised in your show ratios.

Effective communication weather you are taking an inbound or making an outbound sales call is the key to any successful BDC department. The more you roll-play and train your BDC representatives the easier they feel on the call. Let their personalities shine through; it will change the perception of your dealership as being “typical”. With the right process and practices the BDC process is your #1 weapon.

About the Arthor: Mike Keesee is the BDC Manager &
Internet Manager for Little Joe’s Autos

Do you brand your Internet sales department so that every customer feels compelled to ask for you when they arrive at your dealer?

There’s nothing more frustrating then looking across the showroom floor only to see YOUR customer sitting at another sales persons desk signing the paperwork for their new vehicle. This is the same customer you had been corresponding via email and phone over the last several days. Why are they buying from that guy? Why didn’t they ask for you? This happens every day, and many times results into a heated conversation between the salesperson, sales manager and the Internet sales department.

Walk the higher road and let the sales floor have the deal. Take responsibility for the customer not asking for you, and instead find ways of branding yourself so when one of your next potential customers arrives at the dealer, they want nothing more than to work with you and your the Internet sales department. Here are five proven ways that are quick, easy and will help brand your Internet sales department like no other:

1. Sharpen your Image with Great Photos

Potential customers are initially on your site for one reason: Inventory. When the customer finds the vehicle they are looking for, the first thing they gravitate to are the photos. Use this opportunity to grab their attention and start branding your department.

Slide a photo of your Internet sales team members in the line of vehicle photos between the exterior and interior shots. Be sure your team photo radiates professionalism while also portraying that you’re easy-going and fun to work with. Don’t forget your glamour smile on the day of the photo shoot.

2. Leverage the Dealer-Rating Websites

A strong WBFM (“Why Buy From Me”) message can give you the competitive edge. Your customers love you — you hear it all the time about how great of an experience they had. Why not get them to share their positive experience for everyone else to read?

Condition yourself to ask every one of your customers to share their experience on one or several of the consumer or dealer-rating Web sites, such as dealerrater.com and insiderpages.com. As you build enough positive customer comments, you will now have a tremendously strong WBFM message that you can talk up to all of your potential customers.

3. Be Fearless and Build Transparency With Video

Video is yet another way of gaining the competitive edge, since most people shy away from the camera. Nothing builds transparency quicker then a few short videos of you and your team. Commit to filming several videos that distinguish the difference between you and the competition. Let your customers know you and your team are the solution to their vehicle-buying needs. Consumers are looking for the right car, just as they’re looking for the right dealer and the right person with whom to do business.

Video is easier then ever. You can certainly go high-end, buy a simple Flip Video Camcorder from Amazon or your local electronic store will do the trick. Check out videospin. com for free and easy-to-use video editing software that works great with the Flip camera.

Take your filming to next level and get your positive customer testimonials on video, as well.

4.  Master your “About Us” Page

What is the real value of your dealers “About Us” page anyways?

When a customer clicks on your “About Us” page, they are looking for a reason to do business with your dealership. For lazy reasons, most dealers ignore this page or use the default text provided by the Web site vendor.

Take advantage of this page and brand your Internet sales department to another level while cementing a relationship between you and your potential customer. Let customers see a more human side of your dealership. Remember, just because the page is labeled “About Us” doesn’t mean you get to talk the “Me, Me, Me” message. The key to great marketing is not what you say about yourself, but what your customers say about you. This is a great place to display those customer testimonial videos.

5. Don’t Forget Your Sensational Signature

This might seem like a no-brainer, but believe me, many sales people overlook this effective element for branding themselves. Every e-mail you send is yet another opportunity to brand yourself and your Internet sales department. Before you hit “send” one more time, make sure your signature line says all it needs to about you and your Internet sales department. Your signature line should include your name, job title, the name of your dealership, your direct phone line along with your cell phone number and your Web site URL. These are, of course, the obvious elements — but why not take it a step further? Include a photo of yourself, a dynamic tag line and/or a P.S. note linking the customer to your consumer ratings profile page or your new “About Us” page.

Many Internet sales managers are left to believe that you need special “Internet pricing,” a “Benefits Package” or a “Free Give Away” in order to get the customer to ask for you. Instead, sell something larger than the price of your vehicle. Sell your brand, sell your image and sell your customer what they are truly looking for. Be the rock star you are — take full ownership of your Internet sales department and find every opportunity to brand it to the max.

Kevin Frye posed a question to Jeff and me the other day asking about some of the measuring devices behind a dealer website.  One of those items in question was the Conversion Rate.  In trying to answer him, I realized we may not be all measuring this statistic the same way (just like how we all measure “Internet deals” differently).

Here are the various measurement methods that I know of:

1. Number of form submissions by email vs. your total number of unique visitors
2. Number of form submissions by email vs. your total number of visits
3. Number of form submissions by email vs. you number of form views
4. Total number of leads from your website vs. your total number of unique visitors
5. Total number of leads from your website vs. your total number of visits
6. Most traditional definition:  number of purchases from the website vs. the total visits

I’m sure there are more ways to measure, but those seem to be the most basic….or universal.

So, when someone says the average dealer website converts at 2-3%, what does that mean?  How was that percentage derived?  Some site providers would say you need to measure the effectiveness of your forms; making number 3 the conversion rate method of measurement.  It also shows a much higher percentage when you look at things that way.

Regardless of which method you may use to measure your conversion rate, watching it is important.  A small change that makes the number go up or down might be worth looking at and either applying that change more or getting rid of it.  If you’re not watching this little statistic, shame on you, but if you are and have been, how are you measuring it?

Showroom sales statistics for car dealers

Here are some general showroom statistics compiled from Nada studies and a few other sources/studies over the last several years.

Some of these statistics are a few years old, but believe me still hold. Even with the influence of the Internet, 90 PLUS % of our customers are still eventually visiting the showroom and looking for a relationship before spending a wade of money and finally making their purchase.

Even when your “Internet customer” visits the showroom, many times it’s back to square 1, and this is where most sales people can find themselves skipping the sales steps. It’s amazing how much your relationship with your customer determines the sale…

72% of customers tell their salesperson they are “just looking” at the initial greeting.

71% of customers say they bought their vehicle because they like, trusted and respected their salesperson.

85% of consumers say their salesperson DID NOT control the sales process, build any rapport or interviewed their sales person.

88% of customers said they received a lousy presentation and demonstration.

50% of customers said they bought on the spot when they got what they felt was a good presentation and demonstration.

93% of customers did not get a service walk as part of the sales process.

94% of salespeople are not confident of the price in the close.

90% of sales people DO NOT do any follow-up whether the customer purchases or not.

82% of customers cannot remember the sales persons name 1 year after their purchase.

78% of customers who visit your showroom buy a vehicle somewhere.

85% of customers made up their mind to purchase a vehicle before they left their house.

38% of customers purchase within 4 hours of visiting their first dealership.

57% of consumers purchase within 3 days of visiting their first dealership.

90% of customers purchase within 1 week of visiting their first dealership.

30% of customers have a family member who will purchase a vehicle in the next 90 days.

How many times have you heard or even said to yourself…

“I’ve sent this customer 5 emails and I have yet to hear anything back”
or
“These Internet customers never call me back”,
maybe even
“I send them a price and I never hear back”..

No doubt about it, sending emails to someone who never responds is frustrating. But who is really to blame..you or the customer?

You’re already aware there’s no Silver Bullet, no sure fire way of making every potential customer respond to your emails. However, many times your emails or email templates are an over looked vital element of your success in transitioning the customer from behind the computer to the phone and ultimately your showroom floor. There are proven methods that will increase your response rate and help transition your customer to the phone quicker.

When writing to your potential customer remember to include these 4 key elements in your email and email templates.

1. Grab your customer’s ATTENTION fast!

There are 2 main elements for grabbing your customers attention: the subject line and the opening paragraph of your email. You want your subject line to create trust while also creating interest and enticing the customer to open your email. Yes, I know we have all heard too much about the importance of your subject line..but what about after that? The opening paragraph of your email sets the tone and needs to keep your customers attention. If your message in the opening paragraph is weak you will quickly lose the reader.

2. Create the INTEREST.

You have now grabbed your customers attention so it’s time to deliver the information and create interest. How do you create interest? With options! Provide your customers with inventory options. If your customer is interested in a new Volkswagen Passat, provide them with information on one that closely matches their request. Provide a base model, the cheapest one you have on the lot, along with a more expensive one with more equipment. What about a used Certified Volkswagen Passat? Over 60% of your new car buyers will consider a certified or well maintained pre-owned vehicle. Think about that!

3.  Hint on the URGENCY

Urgency can be used to grab your customer’s attention in the beginning of your email as well as towards the end. I’m not necessarily a fan of statements like “Prices Only Good until this date” though this strategy can sometimes work. I prefer using phrases that hint at the urgency. For example: “Mr. Smith, we have some great specials this month” or “the incentives this month are some of the best we have seen”. Let your customer know that this is the month for a great deal. Also, when selling new cars and using availability to hint at urgency, you could refer to the model of interest as a “best seller” or “limited availability”. The point is to plant the seed of urgency rather than being blatant.

4. Keep the momentum going with the next step to ACTION!

I’ve read so many emails that end in..”I look forward to hearing from you” or “Call me at your convenience”. Why would you wait for the customer to contact you? If you get anything out of reading this, this is it! The “A” the “ACTION” at the end of your email is the most important of the four letters. End your emails by asking your customer to take the next step of action! That may be picking up the phone to accept your call or clicking on the link to your online credit application. I prefer transitioning the customer to the phone. A question as simple as “Kristy, would it be OK to call you in the next 10 minutes?” can yield you some great results.

Your emails need to grab your customers ATTENTION. Once you have their attention, quickly turn that attention into INTEREST. While you have their interest, establish a sense of URGENCY and keep the momentum going with your next step to ACTION.

The next time you think you are ready to click the Send button, give your email a once over to be sure you have included the 4 letters that will sell you more cars this month; A I U A.

Price or No Price? Do you price your dealers inventory?

This topic has many years of life left in it, so I thought I’d start another attempt at mixing oil and water. I know there are at least two sides to this discussion and I look forward to some excellent feedback from those in the trenches. As for me, I believe in offering a price when your prospect asks for one. People are offended when someone on the phone or even worse via email, tells them that their presence is their leverage. Some people make a living teaching car dealers new ways to manipulate, intimidate and control their customers. If you still do business this way, please stop! You’re the reason people go to almost any length to avoid car dealers. How many times have you returned or referred business to some one that treated you that way? Be fair, be good, be honest, because it’s worth it.

Considerations
You wouldn’t be the first person to find that offering price immediately increases customers trust and comfort levels. Remember, most internet shoppers fear being the next victim of old-school-car-sales tactics. It doesn’t matter how much you reassure these people, you have to earn their trust! Delivering the selling price helps eliminate their fears.

And…if you put your prospect on the ceiling (sticker shock) when you offer the price, you will be able to determine their seriousness much quicker and eliminate wasting valuable time.

How Do You Deliver Price?

The best way to offer price is right down to the penny!

And…

Don’t quote dollars over cost or invoice, or percent over cost or invoice.  The Internet shopper will likely perceive this as an old school selling tactic.

Avoid being vague about the price. Offering price ranges can be effective, but be aware of internet shopper’s lack of trust. They are almost always suspicious of the “get ‘em in” mentality which is common at most dealerships. You don’t want your lack of process to result in a buyer’s departure from your dealership.

Why Deliver The Price On The Phone? Won’t People Use It To Shop Me?

Some of your internet prospects may use your price to shop around, but the only way to stop them is by not offering price. Unfortunately, you’ll end up losing more sales by not offering price than by offering one.

People use the internet because they want information NOW. They are trying hard to avoid the same old, run-around at the car dealership. They want simplicity.  If you want to sell more cars through your internet efforts, you’ll need to learn how to sell the value of a process that does not include hassle, pressure, intimidation, manipulation and stress.   Ask yourself this question, isn’t it easier to find out early in the process that your potential customer will not or cannot buy, than it is to find out later?

How Can Your Dealership Create A Plan And Structure For Delivering Price?

Here’s a road map to help simplify the process:

• Establish a price range or “menu” for all models and trims
• Make sure your internet department is on the same page with sales management (this usually means that sales management is aware and supportive of this process)

You’ll see these benefits:

• Quicker price quotes
• Standard info now available for all sales people (most importantly your internet staff)
• Cut-down on extensive calculations (people don’t like waiting through multiple trips back and forth to the sales manager)
• Boosts prospect’s satisfaction level (have the same person work the deal start to finish and see how much your customers appreciate it.

Dealership Management Should Empower The Internet Department

More benefits:

• Instills confidence in your potential customers when it appears that you have pricing authority.
• Cuts down on time required by sales managers for internet deals.
• Management Must Buy-In At The Appropriate Levels To Be Successful

More benefits:

• Forces frequent and better communication between the internet department and sales managers (this is a huge area of weakness in many dealerships)
• Empowers internet department with authority to deliver the sales price.
• Encourages management support.

With encouragement and hope!

Shaun is the CEO and Consultant for Dealer Advisor

Guest Posting by Laura Villevieille

Probably the biggest advantage that email campaigns have over direct mail campaigns for your dealership, is the ability to track performance.  When you send a mailer, you have no idea who looked at it, who threw it in the trash, or whether it even reached the address.  With email, we can at least see part of this picture:  whether they received it, opened it, or took action by clicking a link.

Here is a rough guide to the key email metrics that measure the performance of an email campaign.  There is a lack of standardization among email vendors and marketers when it comes to defining some of the terms and metrics.  Most of the definitions here are taken directly from an article by the IAB Email Committee intended to guide the industry towards consistency.

These definitions should help you understand what the numbers mean, and also help you in getting clarity from your email provider on what their reported numbers really mean.

Email Delivery

• Sent – This metric shows how many emails you tried to send. In other words, how many messages were in the queue before any delivery attempts were made, but after any necessary internal suppression (like checking against a bad email or do not contact list) has been performed.

• Bounced – This is the number of emails that bounced, or generated a delivery error.  This is when the recipient’s mail provider rejects the email for whatever reason.  There are two kinds of bounces:  a hard bounce and a soft bounce.  A soft bounce is generated when the reason for the bounce is temporary, like the recipient’s mailbox is full.  A hard bounce is a permanent and fatal error, like no such recipient exists.  Bounces usually contain a bounce code and accompanying description of the form ‘550 Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable  [E.g., mailbox not found, no access]’.  The bounce rate is the percentage of emails that bounced out of the total sent.

• Delivered – This is the difference between emails sent and emails bounced.  Delivered means that the email was accepted by the mailbox provider.  But that does NOT mean that the recipient actually saw the email. If the message is accepted and placed in a junk/bulk folder it generally counts as delivered. The delivery rate is the percentage of emails delivered out of the total sent.

• Inbox Delivered – This metric shows the number of emails that actually made it to the user’s inbox as opposed to their junk/bulk folder. This number is usually generated using an estimation based on delivery to special seed accounts. A seeding tool uses a seed list, or list of email accounts at a range of mailbox providers (i.e. Yahoo, AOL, Comcast, Hotmail, etc.).  It sends an email to the list of accounts, and checks where the email ended up – inbox, junk, or disappeared (usually denied or bounced).  It then estimates inbox delivery rates based on these results.

• Unsubscribe Requests – This shows how many people unsubscribed from this email campaign as a direct result of an action taken via a delivered email, like clicking on an unsubscribe link.

• Complaints – This metric shows how many people clicked a link in their email software to Report [this as] “Spam” or Report [this as] “Junk”.  This information sent back to the email sender through a feedback loop.  The email sender must sign up for feedback loops at each mailbox provider to receive this data.

Email Performance

• Opens – This metric shows how many recipients opened the email, either unique opens, or total opens.  This information is collected using a beacon image, which is a tracking script that is triggered when the user loads an invisible image. This metric can be expressed as a whole number or an open rate.NOTE: Some opens may not be detected when, for example, the user has images disabled, is on a mobile device, or has elected to receive text-only emails. The metric may also falsely indicate opens when the message is briefly loaded into the preview pane but is not actually viewed by the recipient.

• Click-Throughs - This metric measures how many clicked on a link within the email, either unique or total clicks. This can include any links deemed worthy of reporting on, either unique or total clicks.

• Conversions - Although not all email messages are intended to drive a purchase, most messages have some “call to action,” such as a click-through or confirmation. This measures how many took whatever action you deem to be the most important result of the campaign.  It can also be expressed as a conversion rate.

• Email Revenue - This is how much revenue was generated from a campaign.

• Effective Email Cost-per-Thousand (Email eCPM) – This metric is typically used for list rental and attempts to answer the question, “How much revenue was generated per email impressions delivered? It may be calculated by subtracting costs associated with sending the emails from revenue generated, then dividing by the number of impressions delivered, and finally multiplying that number by 1000.

Email marketing is about results, not just communication between your dealer and the consumer.  Prudent use of these metrics will enable you to fine tune your marketing approach and messages to enhance your customer relationships and maximize the productivity of your communications.

Further Reading…

- Email Campaign Performance Metrics Definitions – The IAB article.  These are many of the same definitions, but from the horse’s mouth.

- The Email Stats Center – A wealth of industry statistics and information.

- Email Marketing Metrics Report – October 2007

- Email Marketing Metrics Report – January to June 2007.

- Email Open Rates Guide – Everything you ever wanted to know about open rates.

- Email Metrics and Bounce Management – Review of varying industry practices for calculating delivery, click and open rates.

About the Author: Laura Villevieille is the eSolutions Project
Manager for CIMA Systems

Are you skipping steps with your Internet customers?

When you’re dealing with the internet consumer (today’s consumer) it’s easy to assume they know exactly what they want. After all they’ve done countless hours of research. They know exactly what they want down the color, trim and options..RIGHT? Yet recent studies show, only 23% of consumers actually purchase the vehicle they first intended to.

When I was on the floor as an internet sales rep I sometimes found myself tippy-toeing around the customer for several reasons:

1. I thought for sure the customer knew exactly what they wanted.
2. I figured the customer already had pricing from Edmunds or another website.
3. I didn’t want to come off as the stereotyped car sales person.

Of course I don’t think anyone reading this would want to be seen as a stereotyped car sales person, yet after all, you are there to sell a car which does at least make you a salesperson…RIGHT?

Now, in trying to be different and better by giving your customers a joyful buying experience, is it possible you’re not being fair to the customer and yourself? When I say “fair”, what I mean is, could you be short-changing your customers by not offering them outstanding customer service and all the options that are available?

I bring this issue up after having the opportunity to visit many dealers in the area and watching their internet and sales process while reflecting back to my days on the floor as an Internet sales representative. I often found myself focusing so much effort trying NOT to be the stereotypical car salesmen that I would catch myself taking TOO MANY SHORTCUTS!

Next time you have an appointment with a customer that you have been working online, take a step back and be able to recognize if you’re taking SHORTCUTS.

Are you giving your customer a million dollar product presentation?

Just because your customer has done hours of research online, this doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the opportunity for you to show them the features and benefits of the vehicle they’re getting ready to spend thousands of dollars on? Who knows, you customer might be on the wrong car.

Are you presenting your customer inventory options to help them save money?

Many times this is done during email or phone communication but it doesn’t hurt to offer again in person. Always offer your customer several ways of saving money, whether it’s a model or trim level down or a certified pre-owned vehicle of the same model (this will help you when it comes time to close).

Are you walking your customer through your service department?

Build value in the dealer and its service department. Be sure your customer is aware of the convenience features of your service department. Whenever possible, introduce every customer to the service manager or service representative.

Are you sure your customer is aware of all the different purchasing options available to them?

Today, many times the price of the vehicle is negotiated over the phone or email. This doesn’t mean your customer does not deserve the opportunity to review other buying options that are available to them. Even if they are a cash buyer, always present purchase and lease payments as options for your customers. You never know, your customer might be interested in leasing even though this had never come up in the past communications.

Of course these are just a few of the major steps that I notice many internet sales representatives taking. When you shortcut the customer you could be shortcutting yourself. They deserve options and providing your customers’ with options will help you with the sale and the close.