Service Customers

I have a new routine. Every day, I get handed a stack of everyone who has used our service department on the previous day. Here is what I do with them...

• I call them and if they answer, I thank them for stopping by our service department.
• I then ask if everything was handled to their satisfaction.
• Most of the time, the customers are very satisfied and tell-me-so with joy in their manner of speaking.
• I can see from the service sheets where the people have bought from before and probably 80% of the people did not buy at our dealership. In that case, I'll tell them, "I'm going to send you a business card. Please call me personally if you ever need anything."
• Usually they are very appreciative because of their good service experience (we have an excellent service department.)
• I then put them into my new program, FollowUpCrm.com (not up yet for the public but will be soon...) and I print a "Thanks for stopping by our service department" letter. FollowUpCRM keeps track of the fact that I sent them a letter and I have it set up to contact these people every 90 days.
• In the letter, I thank them again and let them know that I am a salesperson at the dealership and to contact me if they, or anyone in their family need anything.

I have been doing this for about 2 weeks and here are a couple of thing I have noticed...

1. Once again, I work for a dealership that has an excellent service department. It actually makes me happy to hear that from our customers because...
2. When I'm trying to sell a car, I can bring up the fact that I contact the service customers and 99.9% of them love their experience.
3. Once in a while, I get a buyer on the phone. I talked to a guy originally from Canada the other day (across the river from my home town of Wyandotte, Michigan) and he told me, "The vehicle you are calling about--it was a lease and I just turned it in. I'll stop by in a few days because I need another vehicle."

Now, if you know sales statistics, I have a huge chance of selling that guy when he comes in--probably 50% - 75%.

"What about missing an up when you are on the phone?" you may ask...

Well, I have a nice office on the corner of the dealership and have a nice bay window (no more cubicles for me) where I can watch the used car lot ($$$) and we only have two salespeople so I catch a good portion of the customers anyways. Also, it keeps me busy and sharpens up my skills because I am constantly talking to people.

The owners love it (no managers at this dealership--yay!), the customers love it, I love it and the other salesperson at the dealership laughs at me. LOL

Keep checking back to this blog. I know I haven't written much lately but I have had some huge changes in my life (moving across the country), I sell cars a lot (55-60 hours a week) and program a lot (20-30 hours a week.) I plan on opening FollowUpCrm.com to the public soon--I'm not kidding--you are gonna love it.

Marv

p.s. I'm going to have cool email alerts--FollowUpCrm will contact you via email to remind you about appointments, etc. It's gonna freaking rock!

Online CRM Coming!!!

Well, things are going pretty well for me in Tennessee. I just perhaps just finished my best November in my life--all during deer-hunting season which in Michigan, was usually the kiss of death.

I'm working on an online CRM for car salespeople (and later real estate agents, boat salespeople, RV, motorcycle sales, etc.) that is going along very well. I'm going to charge a small monthly fee for use instead of a one-time fee like CSA7 but it will have some cool features like...

• A simple design that makes it quick and easy to do follow up.
• An enhanced automated follow up system that will allow you to differentiate between new and used customers as well and purchase types (cash, finance, lease). It rocks!
• The ability to use from ANY computer with a web browser. You will not need to install the program and updates happen on my server-end so when I add a new feature or fix a bug, it will be there instantly.
• You can use this program over a cell phone--I have tested it on my IPhone and it works well and fast. Another cool feature is that the IPhone automatically takes phone numbers and makes it so you can click to dial. This helped me the other day when I wanted to call a customer--I looked them up, clicked their # and called them. Cool feature that I didn't expect!
• When you print letters, the program creates a PDF file that you can save to print later, move to another computer to print or print on the spot.
• Speaking of printing letters, the program puts the name of the letter into a follow-up history so you can keep track of who you have called and how long it has been since you have called them.
• Speaking of how long between calling people, you can set the number of days to call your people. For example, I have it set to call my sold customers every 45 days, unsold prospects every 3 days, internet leads every 2 days, people on a mailing list every 90 days, etc. When you contact a person (whether call, email or send a letter) it will reset the date so it will not notify you again until the number of days have elapsed.

Quite frankly, I think this program is the future of my business. I'll still make computer versions that you purchase and install to a single computer but I think this will be easier to use as well as more versatile for my customers because of the instant updating, ability to use anywhere, etc.

I'll be giving away free trial copies soon so you all can check it out.

Marv

p.s. A dealership version will also come out that will rock and roll!

Finally Settled-In!

Me all relaxed at work!

Well, it has been a few months since I have written anything here. My family and I have made a huge change and have moved to Tennessee (my wife's home state.)

The cool thing is that I have a job at a local Chevrolet, GMC and Buick dealership. It is a smaller dealership that really takes-care of their customers--everyone knows everyone else in the town, they have loyal customers, are community orientated, etc.

Speaking of the customers, they are mostly truck buyers. It is back to being cool selling vehicles because people around here buy because they need a vehicle (cattle farmers, etc.) instead of buy because one leases for $200 per month (a-la Michigan.) I love the fact that I can go back to selling on value instead of, "What is the cheapest lease you have?"

Oh yeah--I sell new and used vehicles now (mostly used) and like that a lot better than just selling new.

More articles coming!

Marv

Steve McNair found Shot and Killed

Wow--as a seven-year resident of Tennessee (including 2000 when this great quarterback took the Titans to the SuperBowl) this is a shock for me. Steve McNair was found shot and killed in a Condo in Nashville, Tennessee.

He was a warrior in the classic sense--it seemed like he was always injured and hurting yet he still came out and gave it 110%. He was my all-time favorite quarterback--may he rest in peace.

Free Online Payment Calculator

Hi, everyone! I've been out for a few weeks--I actually spent some time in the hospital and had my gall bladder removed. I've lost a little weight, no longer have a sick stomach all the time and feel great! I want to thank everyone who contacted me and wished me well.

While recouperating, I wrote a couple of nice payment calculators. There is a basic one (rate, finance amount and term) and an advanced one that is actually a full deal builder (shhh...don't tell your manager!) They are online and totally free to use. Please tell all of your fellow salespeople about them--the more people who use it the merrier! Here is a link to check them out...

http://carsalesassistant.com/free-payment-calculator.aspx

Please keep in mind, though, that there is no error checking built into them yet so if you do something wierd like put "gagagogo" as your sale price instead of something like 20000, you may get an error.

Also, I have a coupon out right now SAVE10 that will knock $10 off of your order at my carsalesassistant store. CSA7, using this coupon, is now on sale for $59.99. Here is a link to my store...

http://store.carsalesassistant.com

Thanks!

Be Nice to Customers

I guess I could just leave the title on this article and it would say enough but then who would read it???

OK--I had a customer a few months ago. The guy grew up with my dad, I got along great with them and guess what--they bought somewhere else. They didn't buy my brand, by the way.

I found out about it after making a follow up call. When they told me that they bought a Saturn--I could have been like a ton of salespeople out there who try to make the people feel guilty--you know the types.

"I spent 3 hours with you!"
"I have a family to feed!"
"Thanks for wasting my time!"

Or I could have been a professional and said what I did, "Congratulations! I really like the Vues. Do me a favor--if you ever need anything in the future, please let me know."

You know what they did? They had a sister looking and sent her to see me. I sold her a car. If I would have been rude to them in any way, this would never have happened.

Referrals are without a doubt the most important aspect of selling cars. Repeat customers are a given and if you do a good job following-up, you would get a ton of them. Referrals, on the other hand, are people going out of their way to recommend you.

Thanks for reading this blog!

Marv
http://carsalesassistant.com

The Day the Dealerships Closed

I work at a Chevy dealership in Southeast Michigan about 15 miles away from Detroit.  To say that the economy has hit us hard is a huge understatement.  I'm going to make a few claims before going on with this article...

• The media (local news, newspapers, etc.) is a huge reason that the economy is tanking.
• The media "likes" to publish/broadcast negative articles because fear sells.
• In 13 years of selling cars, this is as bad as I have seen it.

With those three assumptions, on with the article!

Well, GM is closing a shit-load of dealerships and the big thing was waiting for the "package from FedEx" that would be a letter stating that you were one of the closing dealerships.

Early in the day, our dealer got a call from someone at GM--we were safe from closure.

A half an hour later, someone from a local Detroit news station came by--he had his little news truck parked outside--filled with cameras, microphones and the other evil tools to spread the bad news that spreads harder and faster than the swine flu!  Here is a little script paraphrasing the conversation with the bad-newsman and our dealer.

Bad News Man: So--did you guys get the "package?"

Dealer: No.

Bad News Man: So--you still might get the package, right? (he was really hoping that we would!)

Dealer: No--we got a call instead.

Bad News Man (Smiling): Did they say that you are getting a package?

Dealer: No--they said we are safe.

Bad News Man (Grasping...): But--you still--uh--might get a package, right?

Dealer: No--we are safe.  We are not closing.

He looked like someone told him there is no Santa Claus.

Dealer: Do you still want to interview me.

Bad News Man (Sad): I guess we can do a quick one outside.

Me (Marv): (Grinning but acting serious) Do you want us to act like we're closing so you can get your story???

You should have seen the bastards face then!!!  LOL.  Needless to say, they went outside for a hurried interview and the "good news" article never made the evening news.

OK--a few hours later--I'm talking to a Bad News Woman.

Me: have you been to any dealerships that are closing.

Big Fat-Assed Bad News Woman (Visibly Depressed): No--but we have several crews out there and a couple of them have gotten "lucky."

Me: Well, I hope you get "lucky" and find a dealership that's closing.  While you're at it, maybe you'll get "lucky" and find a baby that's killed in a fire or something.

BFABNW: I didn't mean it that way.

Me: Naw--it's alright.  It's good that you are doing this because you will be going through this in a couple of years when the three news stations merge or close down because people can get news faster and better through the internet.

You should have seen the look on the fat bastard's face!

OK--the day is almost over.  In pops a young dude with a camera.  I can't help myself at this point.

Me: Are you here to do an article about the great news?  You know--the new camera that the astronauts are putting in the Hubble Space Telescope?  It will increase its power by ninety times and allow us to see deeper into the universe!

Him: Yes I am! (He laughs)  No, actually I'm here to report the great news that you guys are staying open.

Bless his heart!

Well, there are still going to be more cuts and I hope we don't get chopped.  I feel I have some basic skills and that I can sell cars anywhere but I like where I am.  I have 6-years worth of customers there, the managers have faith in me and leave me alone, it's close to home and I work with some good friends and for an honest dealer.  My heart goes out to all of you who have gotten the bad news--I wish I had some words of encouragement but this is all I have.  You are skilled at what you do and can sell cars anywhere.  Good luck.