The Importance of Follow Up

In my 12+ years of selling cars, I have never seen it slower in regards to the number of "fresh ups" that come into our dealership. Nothing seems to work--advertising, bill boards, direct mail, etc.

So--what do I do to sell more cars?

Well, I follow up with everyone that I have talked to at the dealership.

I use a combination of my Car Sales Assistant 2008 program and a legal pad. The program to help me keep track of contact and the legal pad for an "overview" of the people I have talked to. When I get someone back in, I write SOLD with a big black magic marker--it kind of gives me positive reinforcement! Plus--it looks cool when the manager comes by.

Why is follow up so important?

Well, here are some truths about people that come up on your lot.

• For the most part--they are in the market for a car.
• For the most part--if they came to your lot, they are at least considering something that you have to offer.
• For the most part--if they come on your lot, there is a huge chance that they will be buying something within the next few weeks. Some sales trainers have stated that most will buy within a couple of days but my experiences have stated within a few weeks.
• For the most part--you have an 18% chance to sell someone who comes on your lot.
• For the most part (getting tired of the "for the most parts yet?" It will be a given for now on...) That leaves 82% of the people who came on your lot who didn't buy.
• If you do a good job following up on those 82% of the people--any one of them you get back on the lot, you will have about a 50% chance of selling them a car.

Wow--what does that mean in mathematical terms?

If you talk to 30 people in a month, you will sell about 6 on the spot. Out of the other 24, if you do a halfway decent job doing follow up, you might get a third back on the lot--so, 8 will come back. Out of those 8, you will sell 4 (on average.) Can you see where this can be important yet?

OK--I am sitting on 8 cars right now (it's slow here in Michigan--as of yesterday, I was leading the board with 8...) Out of those 8, 4 were "be-backs" that I got back up and sold. Actually, my closing ratio for be-backs is higher than 50% (you can track it with my software) so I work real hard to get people back up to the dealership.

I see people all the time who catch an up and if they don't sell them, their ego gets in the way and they assume that the people just couldn't buy, etc. Well, they are dead wrong and they are losing sales by the dozens.

OK--here are some concrete steps you can take to increase your sales IMMEDIATELY!

• Treat everyone you talk to as a buyer. They would not be there wasting their time (for the most part--sorry) unless they were at least "thinking" about getting a car.
• If they don't buy, give them a "great news" call. "Hey Jim--I have some great news--call me as soon as you get this message." When they call back, "Great news--I have another manager that wants to take a look at your trade. When can you bring it by--right now or later this afternoon?" Remember--if they come back--you have a 50% chance of closing them on the spot.
• Send them a thank you letter for stopping by with a business card in yours since they probably threw yours away or added it to a pile.
  
• If the don't come back--call them again from time to time but always have new information for them--such as new rebates, a great used car you just got in, a new car with the color they really wanted, etc.
• If they don't call back after 3 calls, I assume they have bought somewhere else or do not want my product. Sorry--I don't call until they "buy or die"--there are too many others to call. I do give them a final, "Do me a favor--if you are out of the market, please call and leave me a message on my voice mail so I can quit calling you." (Mention the voice mail because that is non-confrontational--they may not have the guts to tell you live over the phone.)
  
• Put them into your master database like the one on CSA 2008. Send them something once a month. I have had people come back literally years later and buy off of me. "I bought somewhere else but they treated my like crap," I hear a lot.
• I send out postcards (easy to print with CSA2008--sorry about the plugs for my software--it really does help people sell tons of cars.) because they are easy to read and don't look like all the other junk mail we all get.

Well, just some quick tips--do some follow up on everyone (except for those who cannot buy) and you will be amazed about how many extra cars you will sell a month.

Marv

Why Contact Relationship Works

I am a full time car salesperson but I am also a software developer who sells Car Sales Assistant 2008, a follow up program designed especially for car salespeople. Therefore, I think I am pretty qualfied to share a few tidbits with you.

I don't know if you have noticed a change in the car business, but I sure have. GM just dropped a bombshell on us Chevrolet salespeople in Michigan by basically killing leases. What does this mean? Well, people will still buy cars but for us where I live, it is going to be a little bit tougher.

Thank God that I have developed some pretty good techniques for customer relationship building. Since there will be fewer and fewer fresh ups until people get used to not leasing, it is now more important than ever to develop relationships with your current customer base. Also, it is important to have a good system and (shameless plug coming) I would recommend my software. You can download it here and check it out for a free trial.

OK--shameless plugs aside, what do you do with a CRM program once you get it?

• Call every customer you have sold about every 90 days. Some people say every 30 days but I think that is too much--if someone called me every 30 days, I would feel pestered and dread the call. Now, if your manager says every 30 days, do it!
• Why call every 90 (or 30) days? Because odds are that sooner or later, someone in their direct family will be in the market for a car.
• What if they aren't? Odds are that they have a friend in the market for a car.
• Send a birthday card!!!! CSA 2008 makes it easy. Our dealership generates a computer printed letter and you know what? It looks like it's computer generated. Get a nice birthday card! I didn't get a single card in the mail this year (my birthday is June 21st if you want to send me one next year) but guess what--if someone would have sent me one, I would have really appreciated it and if that someone was in the sales or service business, I would have found a way to do business with them or at least find a family member or friend to do business with them! (Very important.)
• If someone leaves without buying, call them and thank them sincerely for stopping by. I have never gotten a thanks for stopping by call but would kinda feel obligated to at least consider someone who takes the time to do that.
• Send a letter thanking them for stopping by with a business card in it. You know what else? Make it hand written so it looks like you take the time because you care!
• If they buy somewhere else, thank them and ask them to give you another shot next time around.

OK-I know I ramble. Back to the title of this article. Why Contact Relationship Works. It works because not many people do it effectively! If you do it, you will stand up in crowd and sell more cars.

Some personal success stories recently.

• I called an orphan owner about 10 months ago and called every other month and talked to her. Guess what? She brought her son up and he bought a car from me a week ago today.
• I called someone who bought somewhere else and said, "I just wanted to thank you for calling me and letting me know. Most people will not do that and I really do appreciate it." You know what? I'm sure no one else has ever thanked her for buying somewhere else. Maybe I'll get another shot from her.
• I had a guy who wanted to lease a car for $230 per month. Well, leasing is done but I still kept in touch with him. You know what else? He is coming up on friday to purchase a certified used car.

What is boils down to, if your economy is rough like ours is, there is nothing else going on so what else can you do to kill the time?

• Call people. Let them know to tell their family and friends about you.
• Let them know that to you, they are more than a sale but a friend.
• Ask them what kind of car they want next time around so you can "keep and eye on the programs and contact them when it is the right time to get their next car."

Rambling done. That's how I write. Thanks for reading this blog!

Marv

Effective Follow Up Techniques

I would venture the say that good follow up techniques will make or break a salesperson. Quite frankly, you can do a terrible job at it and still get some repeat and referral business but you can do a fantastic job at it and sell a ton of cars.

Here are some observations and techniques that I have garnered on the subject of follow up.

There are many ways to follow up with customers but I will focus on the most important--those being the phone, email and mail. If I were to order those three in order of importance, here is how I would do it.

1) Email: Everybody reads their email now a days--especially if they are from someone they know and if they don't have attachments on them.

2) Phone: In my opinion, a phone call is only good if you get a chance to talk to your customer. Quite frankly, I never answer my phone unless I'm expecting a call--I hate speaking on the phone. I will, though, always read my email.

3) Mail: People get bombarded with mail--I get about 2-10 pieces of "junk mail" a day and mostly throw it in the garbage BUT I have hooked up time and time again (like 0% on a credit card, etc.) I have learned that mail sent in a business sized envelope is pretty much never read but if you send postcards, your response rate will be a million times higher. Post cards are easy to read and don't involve opening an envelope, etc.

OK--my follow up system.

Day 0: When someone buys a card, they get a post card from me thanking them for their business. I send that immediately and it is colorful, etc.

Day 1: I call them to thank them and to see if they have any questions about their car. I let them know that they will be getting some "stuff" in the mail about their car and to make sure they read it.

Day 7: I send them a letter telling them more about the dealership--who to see for service, who to call with questions about their paperwork, our hours, etc.

Day 14: I send them a letter telling them about the CSI survey they are going to get.

Day 20: I call them and ask if they got the survey. I ask them to make sure they put "completely satisfied" and to make sure they send it in.

Day 28: I send them one last letter with a couple of business cards in it asking them for referrals.

I also send out a post card or newsletter once every month, or so, with special deals, recipes, etc.

By the way, all of this can be scheduled and done in an easy way with my Car Sales Assistant 2008 software package.

OK--other follow up in detail.

Emails: Always have a good subject line that will relate to them personally or their vehicle. This will improve the chance of them reading your email.

Do not have attachments. Most people hate attachments--they are so informal and can sometimes contain viruses.

Mail: once again, post cards are the most effective. Use a color printer and have something colorful but straight to the point. Use my software to print return addresses and customer addresses on the other side.

If you need to send a letter, use an envelope that is a weird size or shape so it doesn't look like credit card junk mail. Hand write the customer address--do not use labels.

Phone: If you leave a message, send your customer a letter with a business card telling them that it was you who left the message (especially if it was an orphan owner.) People easily delete answering machine messages and may remember you if you send a letter and a business card. How many messages have you heard on your machine? Jim--this is Joe Blow from XYZ cell phone service (delete)... "Uh--Martha--who was that cell phone guy who left that message?"

If you leave a message, have it be something like this. "Jim--I have some great news! Call me as soon as you get this."

Well, home at lunch--have to get back to work. So--enough for this afternoon. Good luck using these techniques!