Anyone who has ever been in the car business knows what the Steps to the Sale are. Most of us generally know these by heart as it is drilled into sales people that if followed to the letter every time then closing percentages will be consistent. So why do many dealerships not have a process like this for online customers?
The fact is most dealers do not look at internet traffic the same as floor traffic and this is the reason many have no idea where they are in the game. From my 6yrs of experience in internet sales I learned you should have at least two processes in place to get on the right track online; a process for your customers and a process for your department.
The process for your customers should be consistent just like the Steps to the Sale since this is essentially the online steps. You should have a defined process from start to finish. If you do not currently have a process then a good place to start forming one is from your past sales. Take a look at all the leads that have been successfully sold in your department and I will bet that you will find a pattern with all.
Just like the Steps to the Sale some may skip steps and some may follow them to the letter but you will see that all have similarities. Once you have established a starting point you are ready to go. This is where many dealers have trouble as they do not treat every lead the same.
The fact is on the floor you may alter the steps to fit the customer’s needs but you follow them none the less. You would not leave a customer on the lot who is asking questions just because they told you they were not quite ready to by yet, would you? Of course not, you would still build rapport, do a demo and take them as far into the process as possible.
Online customers are exactly the same and should be treated consistently; including those not responding. I always looked at those leads like customers on the floor that would not tell me their name or number and just repeated “I am just looking”.
I lingered around and offered info when I saw interest and in the same manner I sent emails with comparisons, told them all the great things people said about their new model and most of the time I would draw them into some sort of conversation because it is hard to ignore someone who is speaking to you about what you are interested in.
Now on the other hand if you process is simply to say “just wanted to tell you that car is still here so if you are interested give me a call” then you may want to rethink some steps as you would not just keep popping around the corner saying “wanna buy” but would instead try engaging them in conversation. Everyone has a hot button be it safety, performance, price etc you just need to hit it so make sure you are trying with every lead and that your process hits those hot buttons at least once. A process for customers is the key to consistent success and maintaining a good closing percentage the same as you would for customers visiting your lot.
Equally important is having a process for the department. If you are running blind in your department you are most likely running blind period. Numbers are probably not consistent and by this I mean your online traffic numbers too. If you do not have a process for your department a great way to get started is to make a list of things you do to keep your department running.
An example would be updating the website. Many dealers unfortunately do not do this consistently so their traffic numbers are all over the board but doing this not only helps conversion but will help you increase them. You can monitor successful content and alter it to try and increase the lead generation from those areas that have high traffic but do not produce. You should be doing this at the same time at least once per month if not more frequently.
A good starting place is once per month but all things that are maintained should have a defined time to maintain and unless completely impossible should not be ignored. Social media is another example of something you should make sure you are setting time aside for and it should be consistently maintained so that your followers and readers know that you are there interacting which in turn will keep them listening.
Once you have your list you can delegate time for each and for the best success do not let them get behind. Once you slip you will find yourself in a downward spiral and then before you know it your sites pages are blank, your social media is out of date and all other tasks are left undone causing your visitors to bail on you and your numbers to begin falling.
No matter what process you are working on just remember consistency is king because this will help you accurately measure the success or failure of your process or lack thereof. Keep charging ahead and you will find that a process is your best friend and your customer’s best friend too.
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Read more about TK Carsites on this blog.
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