One facet of my profession is to identify selling opportunities and teach dealers to take full advantage within the dealership CRM we offer. So you'll see that even though most of the ways to find these opportunities are pretty easy in our CRMSuite, you should be able to utilize some of these tips in order to find those potential customers within your very own CRM.

Besides the amazing dealerships & ownership groups I personally work with, there are still a very small percentage of dealers effectively using their very own CRM to find potential deals. They simply use it to "log their customers" but we all know that there are huge selling opportunities within your own customer base that just needs to be tapped.

1. Have an exciting, newly redesigned model? 

Introduce your current customers to that new design. Start with some current owners of the older version of that model and send a video walk around email/text to point out all the new features. Since it should be targeted, focus on the redesign's specific upgrades.

2. Find and reconnect with some of your older active prospects and offer something similar. 

Look at all your incoming emails, inbound phone calls, outbound calls where you've actually spoken with a person and re-connect with a similar vehicle offer. If they haven't come in yet, their needs may have changed... So constantly reaching out to them about the same vehicle, may not be the most effective way to get a response. Offer something different, then you may be able to find out why they haven't come in yet. Most of the time it's because they've checked the initial car off their list, so offering something different should prompt some questions for you to answer. Be prepared and know your inventory because you may just have what they are looking for.

3. Extend a service offer to your sold or lost customers. 

Check with your Service Department and see what they are currently offering. Re-connect with your sold, your "bought elsewhere", and your current unsold people who have trades; Extend this service offer to them. Shoot them a text, email, quick call with the service offer and schedule the service appointment for them. Reconnecting this way will keep you in front of them... If they are appreciative? Heck, you may even get some referrals.

4. Look at rescheduled & missed appointments.

Being in the car business for over 20 years, I've learned that when someone misses or reschedules an appointment, MOST of the time is because they've encountered another sales person with either a different offer or a different car they'd rather have. People don't want to spend time in dealerships, so they ultimately have to choose which store to visit first and that's usually the place that gets the business. So as a Manager, I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to accommodate their time, but ultimately feel out why they rescheduled or missed their appointment. You have to be tactful, and contact them as if you want to save them time. Bring the car to them, fast processing etc. Make that deal!

5. Set connection goals, not just activity goals.

I hear it in dealerships all the time. Managers simply say "make X amount of phone calls today"... It's a great start, but what if you made 100 calls and didn't reach a single person? How about "let's reach and connect with X amount of customers today!" Send an email, text and call... Find out HOW the person wants to communicate. In sales, I was raised to live off the phone, then came emails, now text... Everyone is different, so let's find out how they prefer to communicate and let's make some connections. I am confident that once I was able to connect with that person, I could get a solid appointment or even a car deal.

These tips are just scratching the surface of amount of opportunities available in your own CRM... I've helped and seen these tips work with the stores I help and the stores I've managed but it does take a little work and uniqueness on your part. I've been told many times that I'm not the typical car guy, maybe I'm a little weirder? I don't know... But I do know, different is more effective. So remember, be different, because different is better.

Photo Credit: Flickr