DrakeBaerresen
marketing solution
internet leads – are you closing every opportunity? It is in sales as it is in nature, the lowest hanging fruit is always first to be picked. Internet leads are no different than showroom ups in this respect. Salespeople are motivated to sell the customer who is in front of them now, on the showroom floor, as well as in their inbox. Today’s salespeople have leads coming from many sources daily, and often customers are several months from a purchase. Too often salespeople are onto the next one, or next 100, before a potential customer makes a purchase. These missed opportunities are just part of the business for many dealerships. Others are utilizing cutting-edge technology to stay in touch with these customers and are closing more deals monthly.
Is Business Falling Through the
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Now that 80 percent of vehicle buyers start their search online, it is important that dealerships arm their people with the tools to maintain contact with these buyers until they buy. The buying cycle can often take several months. In the past, many dealerships would set up a string of automated e-mails to stay in touch with customers. These messages would be very bland and general with no direct reference to the customer’s personal requests or desires. They were a “one size fits all” solution with the occasional field that was personalized, similar to those annoying recorded phone calls you get telling you that you won a cruise. This was better than nothing and was an attempt at helping Internet salespeople manage hundreds of older leads, but was never as effective as sending a personal e-mail. Today’s Internet shoppers have become very good at reading through canned messages that are irrelevant to their searches and requests. In fact, many customers will stop reading correspondences from those they feel are “spamming” them with template bologna. Customers expect a response that addresses their wants and desires. They are seeking to do business with a dealership that values them and their business enough to answer their questions, not just send a multipage cookie-cutter e-mail. Technology now exists that can follow-up with past and present leads automatically in a way that is engaging and personal. This goes way beyond the auto-responders of the past. Think of it as an individual virtual sales assistant for every Internet salesperson at your dealership. Finally, military-grade technology has reached the retail automotive industry at a level where this can be done for a dealership’s Internet sales staff. Customer communications can now be professional and relevant. Even better, customers will have no idea that they are communicating with an intelligent computer rather than a person.
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Dealerships that choose to embrace the use of a modern lead engagement system should consider this technology to drive more appointments for their sales staff. This way as soon as the customer is ready to move beyond e-mail, a personal relationship with the dealership already exists. A good relationship and a positive emotional experience are still what sell cars. Unfortunately, artificial intelligence can’t do walk-arounds — just yet. For a free copy of, “Ten things you need to consider while looking for a virtual sales assistant,” send an e-mail to me at the address below. Drake Baerresen is the vice-president of sales and marketing at Turn-Key Events AVA. He can be contacted at 866.900.7714, or by e-mail at drakeb@autosuccesonline.com.