Increase Sales, Not Just Leads

Today's automotive retail industry is consumed with increasing the number of sales leads that come into the dealership. It's a common topic at many Internet-related conferences and a focus at most dealerships — get more leads!

Sure, it's important for your store to get as many leads as possible (as long as they are quality leads). It is more important to make sure your Internet team can close them.

Why continue to focus on increasing your leads if you are not satisfied with the sales from the leads you already have?

I've sold cars both in the showroom and as an Internet manager, and I am convinced it is much more challenging to get Internet prospects in the door.

It requires a lot of strategy and an organized plan, as well as the mentality to make it happen every day.

I watch sales people make call after call, only to skip vital steps when they get a live person on the phone.

Each day requires a lot of phone calls and when a prospect answers your phone call, your staff's performance must be rock solid. How do you make that happen?

First, make sure they act professional. A true pro has an organized phone strategy of knowing what to say, as well as an exciting and unique voice mail message to use if necessary.

These two things ensure a consistent message and allow for getting back on track when the conversation goes elsewhere.

Remember, the goals are to get an appointment to show on time and get a call back if leaving a message.

Sales people today can get stuck spinning on the hamster wheel by doing and saying the same things day after day; and most of those things don't work. Remember, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

So what is the point of increasing leads if you're mishandling the ones you have already?

Dealers ask if there is one single thing they can do to increase Internet sales. My answer always is “yes!”

Make sure your Internet teams are educated in the latest tried and true processes. You are not dealing with the customer from 10 years ago. The buyer has changed and so must the sales approach.

The more fresh and modern approach eliminates the fears that prospects have of auto retailers, and understands why many vehicle shoppers are online in the first place.

Address specific customer fears. Those include the fear of sales people waiting to attack anyone that drives into a customer parking spot; customers getting pushed off to another salesperson or manager; and the sometimes protracted length of time it can take to go through the sales process.

If you can take these fears away and develop solid selling processes to meet today's buyer's expectations, now you have something to sell on that phone call: Quality customer treatment and service.

In many cases, Internet sales people immediately discuss the vehicle that was requested on the lead with the prospect. What happens next? Well, it's, “What is your best price?” and “Do you have this car?”

Those are two questions that will reduce your profit margin, increase non-commitment and tie up your sales people's time only to possibly lose out in the end. Old-school selling tactics do not work anymore either. The prospects read about those on Edmunds.com.

It is time for a change in how you conduct business and how you get prospects to like, trust and believe in you.

If you are using some of the obsolete techniques of the past, your priorities must shift to producing a professional salesperson that has a chance to make this a career.

Instead of focusing so much on increasing leads, make 2008 the year you enhance the performance of your sales people.

Jennifer Suzuki is the owner and founder of e-Dealer Solutions. She can be reached at [email protected] or at 800-625-1590.

Questions or comments about this column?
Send us an e-mail at [email protected].