Guest post from our in-house BDC expert here at Carloan.com, Eve Paletta-Weaver. Check out her contact information in the link at the end if you'd like to get in touch.

Have you ever called a store trying to ask a question about a specific product or service and decided right from that call that you will NEVER work with that company no matter how good a deal they may give you?

When a consumer calls your store for the very first time, the person who answers the phone is the very first impression of your store. Lydia Ramsey, Business Etiquette Expert states “Seven seconds is the average length of time you have to do it, and everyone knows that you won’t have a second opportunity”.  It does not matter if they are at your location or in an outsourced BDC; it is all the same and needs to be taken seriously to win. It is important to understand the best way to make that initial connection.

To accomplish this, it is essential to answer the phone with a welcoming smile. Have you ever tried to sound like you are smiling with a frown on your face? This is not possible. Make sure that you take the initiative to thank them for calling and choosing your store. When you have a sincere happy approach to your intro it gives a customer that initial feeling of comfort.

Next build a common ground with the consumer so they feel like they are buying from a consultant rather than being sold by a sales person. Make sure that you use their name -- it makes them feel important. Don’t be overbearing and pushy. Let the consumer know how much you care and are there to help. By allowing the consumer to feel that connection from the start they are more likely to become a customer for life rather than a customer for a moment.

Answer the questions that you are asked without selling a car over the phone. So many times consumers have one vehicle in mind, and then when they come in to the store they leave with something completely different. Don’t allow yourself to narrow down the options over the phone by getting into specifics. Use active listening, answering the questions while allowing them to know that you do have a few that have similar options or price ranges it will help to keep this flexibility.

The goal of the initial phone call is to gather information from the consumer and set the appointment -- get them in the door. If they screen you out before they visit your store, you are effectively throwing away your marketing dollars. Once they are on the lot the vehicle specifics and your sales process come into play, you can be on your way to the sale.

Remember — I am always here for any questions you may have about BDCs or best practices for working the phones. You can reach me via the comments field below, or check out my contact page here.

Guest post from our in-house BDC expert here at Carloan.com, Eve Paletta-Weaver. Check out her contact information in the link at the end if you'd like to get in touch.

Have you ever called a store trying to ask a question about a specific product or service and decided right from that call that you will NEVER work with that company no matter how good a deal they may give you?

When a consumer calls your store for the very first time, the person who answers the phone is the very first impression of your store. Lydia Ramsey, Business Etiquette Expert states “Seven seconds is the average length of time you have to do it, and everyone knows that you won’t have a second opportunity”.  It does not matter if they are at your location or in an outsourced BDC; it is all the same and needs to be taken seriously to win. It is important to understand the best way to make that initial connection.

To accomplish this, it is essential to answer the phone with a welcoming smile. Have you ever tried to sound like you are smiling with a frown on your face? This is not possible. Make sure that you take the initiative to thank them for calling and choosing your store. When you have a sincere happy approach to your intro it gives a customer that initial feeling of comfort.

Next build a common ground with the consumer so they feel like they are buying from a consultant rather than being sold by a sales person. Make sure that you use their name -- it makes them feel important. Don’t be overbearing and pushy. Let the consumer know how much you care and are there to help. By allowing the consumer to feel that connection from the start they are more likely to become a customer for life rather than a customer for a moment.

Answer the questions that you are asked without selling a car over the phone. So many times consumers have one vehicle in mind, and then when they come in to the store they leave with something completely different. Don’t allow yourself to narrow down the options over the phone by getting into specifics. Use active listening, answering the questions while allowing them to know that you do have a few that have similar options or price ranges it will help to keep this flexibility.

The goal of the initial phone call is to gather information from the consumer and set the appointment -- get them in the door. If they screen you out before they visit your store, you are effectively throwing away your marketing dollars. Once they are on the lot the vehicle specifics and your sales process come into play, you can be on your way to the sale.

Remember — I am always here for any questions you may have about BDCs or best practices for working the phones. You can reach me via the comments field below, or check out my contact page here.

We're focused on writing about "special finance" at the moment, and I'm pulling out the way-back machine to go back to a post from last summer that definitely applies to working with the special finance customer.

For your edification , I've dropped the post in below. Enjoy!

Educate Your Buyers to Improve Their Experience - And Win Their Trust

Saw an interesting article this week featuring data from  AutoBuying101.com's "Auto Buying Experience" survey, which describes car buyers' experiences with working with auto dealers.

There weren't really any earth-shattering insights on offer, but the data did corroborate some of the things that we "know" about car buyers and the auto sales process:

• Car buyers find the process to be "stressful," and only 28% of the respondents said dealers were trustworthy (yikes).

• 37% thought that the worst part of the process was price negotiation. However, 79% felt like they got a fair deal.

• According to the same survey, many don't plan their approach to the dealer: they don't set an appointment (44%), check their credit (44%) or get pre-approved (47%) before they show up on the lot.

On the other hand, 78% checked out at least one dealership website while they were considering what car they wanted to buy, before they went driving around.

That means that you have the opportunity to make it easier for your customers by doing what we do: educate them on what to expect. When people apply for a car loan at one of our consumer websites, we make a point of telling them what happens next and how to be prepared. There's no reason that you, the auto dealer, can't do the same.

It's simple: add pages that describe the best way to buy a car from you, including how the process works at your dealership and what they need to bring in order to close the deal. Increase your transparency to counteract that 28% trust rating. And follow through on what you say you're going to do.

When you make their experience great, you'll get a car sold and a customer advocate who will recommend you to all of their friends.

In the end, isn't that what's best for you, too?

We're focused on writing about "special finance" at the moment, and I'm pulling out the way-back machine to go back to a post from last summer that definitely applies to working with the special finance customer.

For your edification , I've dropped the post in below. Enjoy!

Educate Your Buyers to Improve Their Experience - And Win Their Trust

Saw an interesting article this week featuring data from  AutoBuying101.com's "Auto Buying Experience" survey, which describes car buyers' experiences with working with auto dealers.

There weren't really any earth-shattering insights on offer, but the data did corroborate some of the things that we "know" about car buyers and the auto sales process:

• Car buyers find the process to be "stressful," and only 28% of the respondents said dealers were trustworthy (yikes).

• 37% thought that the worst part of the process was price negotiation. However, 79% felt like they got a fair deal.

• According to the same survey, many don't plan their approach to the dealer: they don't set an appointment (44%), check their credit (44%) or get pre-approved (47%) before they show up on the lot.

On the other hand, 78% checked out at least one dealership website while they were considering what car they wanted to buy, before they went driving around.

That means that you have the opportunity to make it easier for your customers by doing what we do: educate them on what to expect. When people apply for a car loan at one of our consumer websites, we make a point of telling them what happens next and how to be prepared. There's no reason that you, the auto dealer, can't do the same.

It's simple: add pages that describe the best way to buy a car from you, including how the process works at your dealership and what they need to bring in order to close the deal. Increase your transparency to counteract that 28% trust rating. And follow through on what you say you're going to do.

When you make their experience great, you'll get a car sold and a customer advocate who will recommend you to all of their friends.

In the end, isn't that what's best for you, too?

All right, time for a new topic since I recapped best practices in consumer privacy compliance last time out.

We spend a lot of time talking about this particular one, since we offer special finance leads to the members of the Carloan.com Dealer Network. But let's take a step back and introduce this phrase to people who may not know what it means.

When you say "special finance" to an auto dealer, it has a really specific connotation. There are dealers who flat-out say that they don't do Special Finance, a term that people throw around interchangeably with "subprime."

That last bit might explain some things to the newbies.

Generally speaking, consumers who fall into the Special Finance category for a dealer are people in that subprime credit tier, which means that their credit scores are around 650 or below.

What that also means is that a lot of banks were too scared to lend to those kinds of customers for the past several years, something that is changing right now.

The "special" in Special Finance really is short for "specialized" -- these deals take a little more work with a bank to get done, and there is an entire industry that has grown up around supporting the back end of that process. So much so that there's even an Industry Summit we'll be exhibiting at in September (booth #508) and a magazine devoted to the topic.

Those dealers that work with Special Finance customers  -- and are successful at it -- have dedicated departments that are responsible for maintaining a process, culling the right inventory, wooing the right mix of lenders and getting cars sold.

And there's money in them thar deals. Big money for those that do it right.

The good news is that we're seeing a major comeback in this sector of the automotive financing market. Just check out our Volume Estimator to see how the consumers feel about it, too -- they're also getting back into the market.

Next time, we'll take a closer look at what makes Special Finance different from other kinds of auto financing.

All right, time for a new topic since I recapped best practices in consumer privacy compliance last time out.

We spend a lot of time talking about this particular one, since we offer special finance leads to the members of the Carloan.com Dealer Network. But let's take a step back and introduce this phrase to people who may not know what it means.

When you say "special finance" to an auto dealer, it has a really specific connotation. There are dealers who flat-out say that they don't do Special Finance, a term that people throw around interchangeably with "subprime."

That last bit might explain some things to the newbies.

Generally speaking, consumers who fall into the Special Finance category for a dealer are people in that subprime credit tier, which means that their credit scores are around 650 or below.

What that also means is that a lot of banks were too scared to lend to those kinds of customers for the past several years, something that is changing right now.

The "special" in Special Finance really is short for "specialized" -- these deals take a little more work with a bank to get done, and there is an entire industry that has grown up around supporting the back end of that process. So much so that there's even an Industry Summit we'll be exhibiting at in September (booth #508) and a magazine devoted to the topic.

Those dealers that work with Special Finance customers  -- and are successful at it -- have dedicated departments that are responsible for maintaining a process, culling the right inventory, wooing the right mix of lenders and getting cars sold.

And there's money in them thar deals. Big money for those that do it right.

The good news is that we're seeing a major comeback in this sector of the automotive financing market. Just check out our Volume Estimator to see how the consumers feel about it, too -- they're also getting back into the market.

Next time, we'll take a closer look at what makes Special Finance different from other kinds of auto financing.

Over the past several weeks, I've been writing about best practices for working auto finance leads. We've covered setting the appointment, training your team, and getting folks in the door before pulling their credit.

You've walked your team through this initial part of the sales process, and they all understand how important it is to follow these steps.

Theoretically.

What are you doing to make sure they're making the calls and following the process? Do you have a CRM? Do you have access to your call switch data, or do your sales people self-report their call and pipeline activity?

We encourage our partners in the Carloan.com Dealer Network to use a combination of all three, if they can, in order to get a full picture of how their sales team is using the finance leads they're getting from us.

[Full disclosure: we've got this great ILM called DOLLAR that has fantastic reporting capabilities that we train all our dealers to use. Just sayin'.]

What it really allows you to do is identify any gaps in your process. If you know what your sales process steps are and keep track of the numbers, you can figure out where you're falling short. Not setting enough appointments? Too many no-shows? Dig in and find out what's going on.

And fresh intel out of Digital Dealer 12 (#DD12) last week: "every two no-shows equals a lost sale."

Missed opportunities right there.

You're already spending the money to feed your sales people leads. Make sure you're the first to know if there's something going on with the way they're working their pipeline that's impeding their ability to sell cars.

Over the past several weeks, I've been writing about best practices for working auto finance leads. We've covered setting the appointment, training your team, and getting folks in the door before pulling their credit.

You've walked your team through this initial part of the sales process, and they all understand how important it is to follow these steps.

Theoretically.

What are you doing to make sure they're making the calls and following the process? Do you have a CRM? Do you have access to your call switch data, or do your sales people self-report their call and pipeline activity?

We encourage our partners in the Carloan.com Dealer Network to use a combination of all three, if they can, in order to get a full picture of how their sales team is using the finance leads they're getting from us.

[Full disclosure: we've got this great ILM called DOLLAR that has fantastic reporting capabilities that we train all our dealers to use. Just sayin'.]

What it really allows you to do is identify any gaps in your process. If you know what your sales process steps are and keep track of the numbers, you can figure out where you're falling short. Not setting enough appointments? Too many no-shows? Dig in and find out what's going on.

And fresh intel out of Digital Dealer 12 (#DD12) last week: "every two no-shows equals a lost sale."

Missed opportunities right there.

You're already spending the money to feed your sales people leads. Make sure you're the first to know if there's something going on with the way they're working their pipeline that's impeding their ability to sell cars.

Catching up with my reading on DrivingSales.com yesterday morning, I came across a post called "The Secret to My Success." (I also tweeted about it with the comment "Shh...it's 'answer the leads' - don't tell anyone!")

I was astonished to see some of the facts and figures in there, including:

• 2 out of 10 leads never were responded to.
• 2 out of 3 weren't invited in for a test drive.
• 75% of the leads weren't quoted a price when requested.

Better than you might expect, actually, but there's still opportunity being missed left and right. It's been a while since we've discussed best practices, and it's time to revisit that.

We train dealers on how to work our auto finance leads using the 14-Day Quickstart when we bring them on board. It's been nicely encapsulated in a video on our YouTube channel called "Top 5 Best Practices for Follow Up."

Selling a car to a consumer who has reached out to you for help via the Internet is pretty simple when you get down to brass tacks: make contact & get 'em in. Your inventory and your skill as a consummate automotive sales professional will do the rest.

Because you're all consummate professionals, right?

In that case, it's making contact and setting the appointment that becomes the key to success -- just like Jim Bell said.

What are you doing to make sure your team is working the leads, and doing it the right way?

Catching up with my reading on DrivingSales.com yesterday morning, I came across a post called "The Secret to My Success." (I also tweeted about it with the comment "Shh...it's 'answer the leads' - don't tell anyone!")

I was astonished to see some of the facts and figures in there, including:

• 2 out of 10 leads never were responded to.
• 2 out of 3 weren't invited in for a test drive.
• 75% of the leads weren't quoted a price when requested.

Better than you might expect, actually, but there's still opportunity being missed left and right. It's been a while since we've discussed best practices, and it's time to revisit that.

We train dealers on how to work our auto finance leads using the 14-Day Quickstart when we bring them on board. It's been nicely encapsulated in a video on our YouTube channel called "Top 5 Best Practices for Follow Up."

Selling a car to a consumer who has reached out to you for help via the Internet is pretty simple when you get down to brass tacks: make contact & get 'em in. Your inventory and your skill as a consummate automotive sales professional will do the rest.

Because you're all consummate professionals, right?

In that case, it's making contact and setting the appointment that becomes the key to success -- just like Jim Bell said.

What are you doing to make sure your team is working the leads, and doing it the right way?