- Customers want to feel they can trust the dealership and its knowledgeable, friendly staff who provide good value, convenience and a fast purchasing experience. Accurate traffic counting and measuring sales performance can help structure effective sales contests. - Asking for the sale using an open-ended question like "What would you like to do?" allows the customer to respond without directly saying no and facilitates a smoother negotiation process. - Proper training is needed to ensure staff provides accurate and helpful follow-up responses to customer questions via phone and email to convert inquiries into appointments and sales. Consistency across marketing messages both online and offline is also important.

1. BENEFITS People may telephone to shop price, but they buy VALUE. The value they buy are your benefits. Product benefits, Company benefits and your Personal benefits. Now is the time to hit them with as many benefits as needed to set up the close of the sale. Match your benefits to the needs they told you they have when you asked them how they are going to use the product/service they are purchasing. Ask for the sale 90% of sales people do not come right out and ask for the sale because they are afraid of rejection. They are afraid of hearing the word \"
NO\"
. All you have to do so you never hear the word \"
NO\"
is give the customer CHOICES -- choices between different products and different services that will solve their needs. Then follow Up If you do not close the sale the sales process is not over. All you have to do is make a follow-up call to the customer. Follow-up with more benefits they will receive when purchasing from you. Many times I have seen sales made on follow-up calls just simply because the follow-up call was made. No sale?Make the call your competition is not making. Follow-up even if you do not make the sale. Call the lost customer. Thank them for giving you the opportunity to do business with them. Ask them why they did not make the purchase from you. You will find out valuable information to help you close the next sale. Send them a hand written thank you 'not'. ----------------<br />What Customers WantYour job as a dealer is to deliver high quality, convenient, superior service that attracts and keeps customers coming in day and day out. Delighted customers say they are willing to drive a little further for great service, but you’d better make it worth their effort. What keeps customers more than just satisfied?• Customers want trust: Can you be trusted, is a question that all customers ask themselves on a regular basis, you have to get this one right because if you don’t the rest can be disastrous.• Knowledgeable and available staff: While a customer is making the buying decision, they want knowledge ableassistance, available when they want it. Customers place a high value on accurate timely information and want to be served by employees who know the products and services they provide inside and out.• Genuine friendly people: Customers not only want product-savvy service and sales people, they want them to be friendly and courteous. Your staff should value each customer more than any individual sale• Good value: This is where price factors in. But customers surveyed see price as only one component of the bigger picture of “value” that includes the service, information and follow-up they also receive.• Convenience: The service rule here is simple: make it easy! • A fast finish: Once the buying decision is made, get out of their way because now you are working on their time, and they want to complete the transaction and be on their way as quickly as possible.• The bottom line: In the end, it may be your level of service you provide - not your price - that dictates whether or not you secure customers for the long term loyalty thing.<br />Higher Sales Start With An Accurate Traffic CountNO. DON'T. WON'T. CAN'T. No Wonder Sales People Can’t Sell Cars! To motivate and create a positive attitude, sales contests must be based on the current performance level of every team member and reward them for improving performance. Where do you start? • AccuracyAn accurate traffic count is needed to effectively establish a performance baseline. For example, in one month, Joe sold 20 cars after talking to 150 prospects and Bill sold 8 cars after working with 40 prospects. Most would agree that Joe is the better salesperson because he sold more units. In reality, Joe missed sales opportunities with 130 prospects and achieved a closing rate of approximately 13% while Bill only missed opportunities with 32 prospects and realized a 20% closing rate.• MeasureWhen units sold is put in the context of traffic count, management gains a more accurate measure of performance. Sales contests can be structured that reward an increase in performance – improving the close ratio. This rewards the true performers, and motivates the entire team by creating a fair playing field.• Bottom Line Motivation and incentives are powerful tools that when used effectively can improve performance and add to the bottom line. To create the positive attitude that encourages salespeople to see every person who comes in as a potential sale, these tools must be applied consistently and fairly across the sales team. Just think, what would one more sale per salesperson per month do for your dealership!<br />The Open Ended Close Consider this unique way of asking for the sale.The Direct ApproachWhen it comes to closing, we usually recommend a direct question that can only be answered yes or no, such as: • Doesn't it make good sense to take advantage of this special offer today?• Wouldn't you like to take delivery on your new vehicle right now?• Shall we get it cleaned up for you?The Options ApproachAnother recommendation is to provide the customer with options. This includes asking questions like:• Which payment plan looks best to you?• Which of these models do you think best meets your needs?The Open Ended ApproachSometimes you have a customer - or a sales professional - who prefers a softer approach to asking for the business. There are also companies who insist on a more customer friendly, low pressure approach to car sales. For them, follow up with \"
What would you like to do?\"
Benefits of the open ended closeWhen presented effectively, here are some of the benefits of using this approach:• The customer can't respond \"
No\"
• Negotiations are entered into with less tension• You get right to the point of any concerns quickly• It fits well into consultative selling approaches• It allows the customer to open up and close themselves even stronger than you could close them<br />Follow-up is the Key to Closing a Sale Today’s customer expects immediate response to his or her queries—quick and accurate follow-up by e-mail and by phone is mandatory. While speed of response is critical, the quality of response is even more important. No matter how fast your team responds, the information they provide to customers must be accurate and answer the customer’s question. • TrainingTeach your staff that their responses should give shoppers the ability to take the next step—like walking in to your showroom. Employee training on how to communicate with shoppers via email and phone can make or break your dealership. • Consider the following current statistics about dealership staff’s phone habits: 90% of all sales calls end with no appointment. 45% did not get customer contact information. 35% did not ask for phone number. 31% did not ask for an email address. 47% did not inquire about the caller’s needs. 65% did not inquire or suggest alternatives.• OpportunityThere is a lot of opportunity for improvement in how dealers handle responding to customer questions, whether they arrive over the phone or electronically. It is incumbent upon dealership management to make sure that your staff is trained to respond appropriately—otherwise, you are letting sales just slip away.<br />uccessful in your marketing efforts, online and offline messages must be consistent across all media. Product and service descriptions, including details like pricing, financing, availability, event specials and sales, should be the same whether a consumer sees it on your web site, sees it your ad in the local newspaper, or hears it from your personnel. Therefore, management must make sure that employees are equipped with the proper knowledge to effectively and accurately service customers.In addition, your online dealership presentation should reflect your actual retail environment. For example, photos of your facility, staff and inventory online should look the same on your web site as they do in person. Is the vehicle pulled out of the inventory line and prepped and ready when the customer arrives for a test drive? If this is how you presented the car online, then it should be the same when the customer shows up on your lot. Remember that when consumers see your ads, whether online or off, you are setting up consumers to have certain expectations, so you must be able to deliver on those promises. If you don’t follow through, then a shopper’s confidence and the perceived value of your dealership has been eroded, and you risk losing sales.<br />