April 2011 Newsletter
The Need for an Internet Sales Process
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by Nick Lozovsky
What differentiates a great Internet Manager from an average one? In one poignant
word-PROCESS! Most Internet Manager’s today have a grasp on driving traffic
to their website, keeping their specials current, which third party leads work best
in their market, creating templates, auto responders, pricing, search engine marketing,
search asset management, right? All of these concepts are important and are an integral
component of a successful Internet department. Without a very structured process
however, these Internet savvy manager’s will keep your dealership in mediocrity
and you will consistently lose market share to a process focused Internet Manager.
Let’s clearly define process within the context of selling an automobile.
Every available statistic states that walk-in traffic is down considerably. We also
know that traditional advertising in newspapers is a thing of the past. Predominately
consumers are reaching your dealership through the internet by either visiting your
website or through a plethora of third party companies that slice and dice leads
in a myriad of complicated algorithms. So when a consumer finally communicates with
your dealership it is either by phone or by email. So what actually happens? Who
is answering the phone and what are they saying? Who is it being transferred to?
Does this person have any authority to make decisions? Is there a formal script/process
in handling a new car request versus a pre-owned? Are the phone calls tracked and
measured for improvement? Do you know how many appointments were made versus showed
versus ultimately sold? There are dealerships that are doing all the above and more
every day with every phone opportunity.
The same general principles apply to a lead/purchase request. Some people are ready
to buy today and others are months away. How quickly are you responding to your
leads? Are you harnessing technology to guarantee that during business hours all
leads will be responded to in less than 10 minutes? Are your emails getting through
spam filters? Is there a process in which all leads are handled exactly the same
ways by every salesperson? Is the first phone call scripted describing your dealerships
process and what the consumer can expect from the salesperson?
The 21st century has brought new ways for consumers to communicate with you the
dealership. The psychology of sales however, has and never really will fundamentally
change. The art of active listening, persuasive techniques and overcoming objections
will forever be embedded in selling any product. It is your responsibility to hire
an Internet Manager that can guarantee that each consumer that communicates with
your dealership is being handled exactly in the same manner within a strict regimented
process.
Happy Selling!
Nick may be contacted by email: nick@autopeople.com
To our Clients and Candidates:
From time to time we find unique vendors that serve the Retail Automotive business
that provide a service with real value. This month we are featuring a webinar conducted
by Eric Romingquet that explains a valuable Craigslist service for posting and featuring
your used car inventory.
We hope this webinar adds value to our services. Please read on below.
Before us: The average dealership only expects to get phone calls
from their Craigslist postings and they tend to average around 20 to 50 calls a
month!
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thousands more viewing their used car inventory pages and anywhere from 80 to 150
sales calls a month! All from our exclusive program!
Join us for a FREE Webinar and see for yourself actual results from a case study
for one of our dealers in additional used car sales and gross profit!
Special pricing and trial period provided exclusively for webinar attendee’s!
Or email at info@autopeople.com
