LOST – 5 Ways to Prospect Your “Lost” Customers into Future Sales

Well let’s start by uncovering your next opportunity. This is accomplished by asking your customer a few simple questions.

1. How many vehicles do you have in your household?
   • Identify total number of opportunities.
2. Of those three vehicles, which one will you be replacing next?
   • Identifies who in the family you should be speaking with.
3. Why that one?
   • Gives you a good idea why and a strategy.
4. When do you think that will be?
   • Identifies your timeline and you you might just find a sale right around the corner.

You now have a timeline for bringing this customer back to your dealership. It’s your job to keep your name in front of this customer so when that time comes they’ll remember you better than the person who sold them their last vehicle. Here are a few examples of how you can make that happen:

1. Try to get your “LOST” customer using your service department.
   • Develop a lost customer service special campaign using your CRM.
2. Send them a monthly newsletter.
   • This means you need to get an e-mail address for everyone.
3. Send them a friend invite on facebook.
   • Use your facebook page as a social CRM marketing tool.
4. Send them a birthday card and call them on their birthday.
   • You should have their birthday from when you scanned or copied their license.
5. Make sure you always have a follow-up date scheduled in your CRM and then execute when that date arrives
   • For long term customers there should be more than one follow-up date.

The average salesperson will talk to 50 customers per month. Over a 4 year period that equates to roughly 2400 customers you will have entered in your CRM. Figure two vehicles per household and you’re talking about 4800 potential opportunities sitting in your CRM that are assigned to you. If the average person buys a vehicle every 4.1 years; in any given year you’ll have 1170 customers who might be making a purchase that year. If you were to break that out by the month, you’re talking about roughly 100 customers who might be making an automobile purchase in any given month. How many of those customers do you think you might be able to sell if you were doing all the right things?

Every time you delete a customer or mark them as “LOST,” you’re depriving yourself from a future opportunity. If you’re not buying what I am sharing with you, then in four years from now you’ll still be looking out that window for a fresh customer’s selling your 8-10 cars per month. The country is littered with 10 year veterans who are doing just that. The people I meet who are selling 30 plus vehicles per month all have several things in common and here they are:

1. They don’t take fresh ups.
   • Closing ratios on appointments are 50% versus 20% for fresh customers. This is working smarter.
2. They have developed a solid book of business.
   • Using a CRM or a card and file system.
3. They follow-up with their customer base (sold & unsold).
   • This all starts with good phone and marketing skills.

Next time you’re about to mark that customer as “LOST” in your CRM, think about what I wrote and do what’s right for you and your dealership.