At first glance sending an automated email seems like the perfect thing to do! Where it becomes turn-key, and you do not have to rely on your sales manager, BDC Agents,  or consultants to do the job! Sounds perfect, right? Well that all might sound well and good but the fact of the matter is that many auto emails fail.

Here are some of the top reasons they fail!

The Customer Opt’s Out Before They Open an Actual Email

Think about this for a moment. You spend all of this money to acquire the customer through AdWords, PPC, Social Media, OEM Marketing, Retargeting, etc. All for the customer to finally convert on your website (VDP) only to then opt out because you sent them multiple auto emails before actually answering their lead!

This happens far more often then you would believe! As a customer, can you imagine that you spent all this time researching? Asking what seems to them as a simple question to only receive an automated email that does not even answer their question? Wouldn’t that frustrate you? Especially if the email is made to look like it came from the sale consultant? And please, no one cares anymore whether or not it was sent from your iPhone or that you want to excuse your spelling errors. Seriously. People do not even think about it. I mean, when is the last time you specifically noticed that an email was sent and/or responded to from an iPhone?

Headers & Footers That are Not Responsive

Branding is very important. We get that, but what is concerning, though, is that when you do take the time to brand the store - make sure that the email is legible on mobile devices. I encountered a situation recently where the dealer had great verbiage but failed to make sure the email was responsive!

The email was not readable on the mobile device, which in turn meant that very few people responded. Where you only saw the image (if it loaded), and they failed to include any alt text. Meaning the customer only saw red x’s. Offering abysmal results. In order to have successful headers & footers (which are not always necessary) the design has to be mobile first! No one is pinching or zooming! You also want to take a moment to make sure that all of the images (as mentioned above) have alt text. So if the photo does not load the customer can at least identify what it is they are supposed to be viewing. Lastly, make sure all of the links are correct! If the customer clicks a broken link they are most likely to exit without converting.

Subject Lines!

Subject lines are an integral part of creating a successful email! Where depending on the client's mail system, the email could be sent to a promotions folder (p.s. Mobile devices like iOS do not auto filter them like the desktop), essentially making it invisible to the customer. The subject line should be short to the point! Namely, it should spell out what it is in the email giving the customer a reason to want to open it! Giving a strong sense of “fear of missing out” - FOMO!

Thank You We’re Closed

Believe it or not, customers are not actually always expecting to be responded to when they inquire. Where many of them - at the time of inquiring - just happen to have a few minutes to spend online. That said, if it is off hours - instead of sending a canned, useless email reminding them of what they already know - consider a custom landing page, which offers that you are currently closed but that you will be in touch the following business day.

This way you save yourself an email. And if you do actually respond to the lead after hours it is a surprise. Where the customer can appreciate your having taken the time to work with them despite the fact that you are closed.

Bottom Line: If you are paying hundreds of dollars to acquire a new customer why risk the unnecessary chance of their opting out before you have even had the chance of speaking with them?! Take a minute to review the autoresponders you currently use. Asking yourself “what - if any - value does this add to the customer's experience?

If it takes a moment to answer that question than perhaps it is time to let it go! Remembering that customers do not often read more than the second email. And if the first two emails are irrelevant or do not answer their questions the chances of them opting out are that much greater!

How do you handle autoresponders? Do you have a successful one that gets great results?

OEMs and Dealers have yet to idealize or define what social media means in regards to the brand identity or reputation management. So it is no surprise given the article in the NY times that Dealers still refuse to understand or embrace social media. Several Dealers have yet to approach social media from an angle that will leverage sales using ads with a tangible ROI, which is more important than the happy customer campaign. Hence, Dealer Rater is still the most trusted source for dealer reviews. Generating leads to the dealer using happy customers.

It is apparent; too, that some dealers believe that it is not their job or purpose to be wasting their staff’s time posting on social media.

Is taking a selfie in front of the store smiling as effective as a direct marketing ad that’s paid? 

No. So yes, while it is advisable that your employees not be posting selfies at the dealer highlighting their wild weekend binges. It is, however, essential that your dealer brands ads that are consistent with the vision of the dealer. Taking the OEM’s current marketing to their advantage. Creating an ad that sells itself through word of mouth and past customer experiences. Especially given that customers in today's market are far less loyal than they used to be. The offerings by the dealer have to be more relevant. Most importantly, relatable – promoting a post about a happy customer does not mean the next customer will say, “Well if she was happy purchasing there I will be happy too” 
Instead, the consumer is thinking “what kind of deal did s/he get” 
Instead, of using faces use a vehicle - one that has a good offer. One that will encourage the consumer who has read the good reviews a reason to inquire more information about the dealer and its current inventory. 

It is evident that the main point of this article was to say many Dealers do not understand how to develop content. Highlighting, that for the most part dealers do not have a dedicated content team. The OEMs have also done a less than satisfactory jobs explaining social media. Much less execute their ideology on a dealer level. There is no doubt that the disconnect caused disinterest, frustration, and complete boycotting in some cases. 

Instead of boycotting social media, or worse – having the OEMS control the social media on a dealer level much like they control the sites. They need to educate the managers on how to develop a marketing strategy. 

Wherein, the OEM has the dealer focus on non-thrust months. Knowing that the dealer should not be spending hundreds of dollars on marketing in a month, the OEM has spent millions. Rather, working toward developing a campaign that centers with their demographic area. In so far as leasing deals, services (weather condition specific), etc. 

One example of how an OEM can assist the dealers is to assist them in both approaching and executing a social media marketing campaign. And no, I am not talking about the happy customer campaign. What I am saying is let’s focus on a customer who is in the market based on Polk data. Letting Facebook do the rest of work. Sending the message to the right audience. 

In order for marketing to be successful in social media, the content has to be relatable to the consumer. It is like sending retirement home information to a 21-year-old. 

Beyond a simple campaign – there has to be a purpose. Inviting the customer back to your dealer website to complete a form will just lead to a massive increase in your bounce rate. In addition to frustrated customers. 

Instead, have a coupon or giveaway where the customer gives you their second most prized position – the cell number. A number that gives you their undivided attention. Knowing that 98% of text messages are read within 2 minutes. 

The coupon could be as simple as $25 for giving their “opinion” on a newly designed model. Understanding, that for this campaign to work there has to be “proof.” In so far as customers post their opinions online. Receiving instant gratification. 

Once people see the ‘transparency,’ and this is not another scratch-off scam where the dealer mails out a letter where everyone wins $3,000 to only then win gold coins. It was tragic. They will be much more likely to respond to the dealer. 

Direct marketing via social media – if done efficiently with a purpose – can be incredibly effective. However, make no mistake – throwing out a loose underdeveloped vision that has not been explained or made known to the staff will in no way help the dealer. It will only lead to mass confusion. More confusing and clustered than your website already is screaming “CONTACT ME I AM DESPERATE.” Asking your customer to chat with a robot. 

I challenge dealers to look at their social media page. Reviewing the last campaign they did. Developing a new campaign centered on a local community event such as a pet adoption day, carnival day – even a safety awareness event before school starts.

Taking small steps, and planning according to your OEM calendar will help make transitioning into social media much less complicated. 

Not all CRM platforms are created equal. And given the CRM is the foundation for many positions such as BDC, Sales Consultant, Sales Managers, Service, Equity Mining, etc. it is essential that the CRM offers the core competencies, which is what defines what the CRM is and what it can (and does) do for your business.

Sure, it is often easy to blame the manager for now “knowing” the CRM. And while that is the case in some instances. There are truly bad platforms out there.

Here are some of the top reasons your CRM is failing you!  

Interface

The user interface is an integral part of the design. There is nothing worse than a poor interface that was overly “engineered.” And what I mean by that is the average user (rightfully so) does not think like and or use the CRM as an engineer. The “road to the sale” (workflow) should be intuitive and approachable.

Namely, it should not take more than 5-6 steps to add a customer. Where the poor client is taken to more than 3-4 screens to add a customer in what looks like to be an exploded excel sheet. But more importantly, the color scheme and purpose from everything to the color, font, and icons have significant meaning that can - in so many ways - define the CRM’s image.

The icons (the “workflow” items: i.e., phone call, email, text, etc.) should be just that - representing the outcome. An “in-bound” outcome should show as “inbound.” Yet there are CRM platforms out there whose interface does not differentiate a task. Where all things are the same. Making it very confusing for the end user.

Lack of Innovation - Compromising User Experience

Long gone are the days where a CRM platform should have the excuse continuing to “add” to their legacy platform without revamping the integrity of their prehistoric platform. Such as chat programs, appraisal tools, etc. Oddly, too, one would think that vendors would have standards to ensure that their platform is not compromised within the CRM. As a dealer, though - if none of the new vendors for (chat, text, etc.) can work with them it is a tell-tale sign of an entirely outdated CRM.

I am sure many of you have experienced the pleasure of a lagging system when trying to access a third party vendor within the CRM such as chat, texting, inventory, etc. Where it either freezes or shuts down. Or worse, the texting “tool” cannot send images or video in a compressed file.  Imagine if that was resolved and the product offered a mostly seamless end user experience!

Inability to Search Effectively with the CRM

As you might know, all data entered into the CRM is stored in data tables. Hundreds and thousands of them. That said, marketing to unsold customers has become known to be an art form. When is the last time you asked your marketing manager or BDC manager how long it took them to pull a marketing list?

It most likely took quite a bit of time! In today's market, there are several types of lead sources phone-up, campaign, Internet, Equity Mining, etc. All of which - more often than not - require a different message. One size fits all is an outdated approach that will cause for there to be a significant opt-out rate essentially destroying opportunities.

That said, the CRM platform needs to adapt to the ability to pick and choose which sources to highlight being able to pull multiple at a time. Pulling on OEM (especially for those that share a CRM) one at a time takes hours! In what should be a relatively simple task.

Reporting

One thing that is understandable is the subset list  of “reports.” As it would be an enormous cost to the CRM provider to offer each dealership *free* customizable reporting, which can hinder the performance and the integrity of their platform. Makes sense. But what does not make sense, though, is not to offer the ability to quickly do an advanced search that can pull data in an accessible format.

For example, a BDC Manager might want to pull multiple Internet Lead Sources looking for appointments set, show, sold, etc. Looking to see how many times that customer has been touched, if they received a quote, did they open the emails? Yet you have to look at multiple (yes, numerous) reports capturing that data! Exporting all of that data to an excel sheet, which puts your dealership at risk for data theft.

Lastly, as a BDC Manager, a few other things the platform should be offering is “average days to sale” & “Busiest time of the day” where the BDC Manager can see how many days - once the lead hits the CRM - does it take to close the customer? Or what time of day does their traffic hit the CRM? All of which helps ensure they have the right staffing to manage the influx of business. Guessing what times are busiest can destroy potential opportunities.

User Profiles

It is never one size fits all! And having to create multiple profiles to complete a job is not necessary either. More often than not the CRM has multiple preset profiles where you either have it all, or you have limited access. Giving all personnel the access to potentially delete data, change workflows, delete templates, or manipulate reporting is a dangerous slippery slope! Not to mention, if your CRM does not have an audit trail or reporting on user activity - including logins with IP address - then you could be compromising your system. When is the last time you checked your CRM for data exports? Where your sales consultant or BDC Manager could easily export your entire database giving it to vendors in which case they can sell the very data you have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for?

Bottom Line

While in many cases the employee does need additional training. Take a minute to put yourself in their shoes. Looking to see what s/he is struggling with. If it is a CRM issue work with them. Asking yourself, how much business are you willing to leave on a table to use a compromised, unreliable, uninspiring platform?

By the way, if your platform cannot send photos via text than - wow - what else is outdated underneath the hood?

Lead generation remains a hot topic as it should! However, the issue itself has not evolved much. Wherein, the same answer is offered - noting that Dealer Website traffic is by far the best source for lead traffic. And while it is not saying that third-party leads are over -  it is telling us that dealers still shell out thousands of dollars a year for low-quality leads! Leads that for all intents and purposes might not even be considered a lead. 

What is a lead anyway? One might offer that a lead is merely a form that provides the customers first name, last name, email & phone number, no? But make no mistake that not all leads are created equal! That said, one of the lead sources that has one of the lowest return on investments are the OEM leads. The leads you are spending anywhere from 15-25 dollars for! (and maybe more?). 

While not all OEMs have the same standards when it comes to lead management or the program they offer. There is a relative conception as to the quality of their leads; where their site (as you might know) is geared towards the OEM, not the dealer. And we know that, BUT what are we doing about that? At the end of the day, it is about selling a unit. And sure, in some facets, the customer will build their unit, and choose the dealer. That leads to another topic (for another day) where the model the customer builds is not offered at their local store. 

More often than not, the customer requests information on a vehicle to then get 20+ phone calls depending on how many stores are in the district. And in some cases more than 20 calls if dealers purchase leads that are not within their PMA! Leaving the customer frustrated resorting to providing little to no information in their lead! 

OEM Internet Lead sub-sources can include: sweepstakes, organic & social which all sounds great! But not so great when their sites do not have strong enough CTA’s. Where while their platform might give dealers more than 200-300 leads. It does not mean it will offer the dealers a strong ROI. Where in some instances the closing rate expectation does not surpass 12%, which albeit it is 2% above national average. But what’s more important to note is that Dealer Website leads have a closing rate 20%+, which is nearly 10% of an increase! 

What does this tell us? It tells us that OEMs have work to do on their platforms and while it is necessary for the OEM to offer informational elements about their brand. It is just as important to brand the dealers! Pushing their inventory,  allowing the customer to easily “click to call” the dealer of their choice housing a drop down to choose their dealer!   All of which can happen on the informational pages vs. having to jump out of the screen to then have to locate a dealer and then be able to call. 

The other issue OEM’s face and have not done a great job working with their dealers on the quality of their leads. Where the customer is largely unaware or expecting the barrage of phone calls, and if the customer chooses to purchase 6-months out, and the dealer is calling - or overcalling - it turns off the customer. And that is not to say that we should not be getting in touch with them. But it does offer that if the OEMs were to focus and work with their dealers, they would not sell and recycle the same leads to all dealers! 

One of the things that the OEM could do is have the customer confirm their zip-code to verify rebates in which case the customer would intuitively insert their home zip-code, which can also trigger which dealer the lead should go too. 

If the dealer were able to focus on their own backyard - with the assistance of the OEM - they would see an increase in sales within their PMA! Versus the game of which dealer is going to drop the price the most, which does not do anyone any favors! 

Well in some cases it does, where if you are a dealer that chooses not to play the 3k loser game you will acquire the customer who purchased out of PMA as a service customer for free. As you did not have to lose 3k to acquire the new service customer from sales. And the dealer that loses big time is the guy who did take the 3k loser for the out of PMA customer who most likely has no intentions of servicing their vehicle with their dealership! All of which can affect their retention rate depending on the number of out of PMA sales made. 

The bottom line: OEM’s have their work cut out for them. Work that will force them to work with the dealers to better the quality of traffic. All of which will better assist the dealers in owning their backyard! It is time the OEM’s support the dealers vs. working against the dealers by pitting them against each other. Making it that much more difficult to sell the brand. 

Do you participate in your OEM lead program? If so, do you have great success with it? Is it mandatory? For those that do not participate have you invested that money in other lead sources? 

The market for texting is still widely unknown, and what is known is held by the dealers who are either allowing their consultants to use their devices or a texting tool within the CRM. This is all largely without the OEM’s influence or offerings as to how to integrate texting into everyday communications with prospective or current customers. In fact, I have yet to see a training guide or material offering what the best practices are, i.e., opt-out rates, texts per customer, best opt-in messages, seriously anything!

Last August, I touched on “Texting - The Good, Bad & Ugly which offers that texting is relevant to our industry. The idea that dealers have to evolve finding new means of connecting with the customer. That while texting is not by any means replacing emails or phone calls - It is adding relevance in the way we communicate. In so far as the customer will read the text whether they want to or not! Not to mention, as mentioned previously 98% of the customers read a text within 2 minutes.

Think about it for a minute. With less than 60% of emails getting opened (referring to email campaigns: not correspondence. Big difference.) it means that 40%+ of the customers you are trying to connect with don't even open your email! If this is not a wake-up call, I am not sure what it is?!

Imagine your message getting viewed by 98% of your customer database!

That said, here are some ways to get in the texting arena if you haven’t already:

Text Service & Sales Appointment Reminders

A reminder never hurt anyone. In fact, more and more companies are starting to text their customers reminding them of their appointments. This is extremely valuable. Who would not want to see how many appointments are confirmed for the day? As it allows you to forecast the day. Not to mention, those customers who have to make a change are more likely to schedule a new appointment on the text versus not communicating to then just showing up as a walk-in.

OEM Service Retention

Almost every dealer has a rewards program to assist with your OEM service retention. That said, why get lost in the mix with the thousands of emails that get sent with their account information; or that they are due for a service visit? Out of sight out of mind. That simple.  But what if they got a “text,” which reminded them of their account balance near their service retention date?

Using texting could also assist in eliminating the need to offer steep discounts and coupons to everyone. Why give an insane coupon to a customer who is loyal and will continue to come back. You really think they are coming back just because of a coupon?

Service Due - OEM Maintenance Guide

Ever get in your car, and the dash lights up saying “service xyz” due? Pretty much when it is due?  You most likely have! The problem is that the light becomes a blur, BUT what if we got a text a few weeks in advance offering that is time for our service appointment? To which you could add a click-through the link and book your appointment?

Think about this for a moment. You ever shop on Amazon and use one-click purchase? A button so powerful you just click it and BAM order in and done? This is the same concept. By offering the most relevant call to action items within a text with a *reason* to move forward it is much harder to ignore following through! Seriously, try it out! Where are our Dash buttons (no pun intended)?

Reviews!

We all know that the OEM sends 3-4 emails regarding a survey or reviews. It is overkill. Why hasn’t texting been considered? The customer gets a text once the R/O closes. Sending a survey a week or so out for a service visit isn’t as nearly as effective. First off, its a service visit not a purchase.

Second, texting the customer right away has a much better chance of capturing their experience with everything from the meet & greet to the transaction at the cashier's desk or for those who are more progressive offering payment at the service advisors desk! A delayed survey forces the customer to recall the scenario in which case they can (in some cases) perceive an entirely different experience.

Bottom Line:

Not much has changed since August regarding texting. There is still confusion as to what texting offers, what it counts for, and most importantly how to navigate the reporting, which does not seem to exist. Other than of what the CRM provides for those using a tool connected showing how many texts were sent etc. It's as exciting as looking at a phone bill or for those of us who used T9 texting and got a message showing how many we had sent!

This year, I challenge you to add texting to one or more facets of your business. And I assure that you will not just see results, but a shift in the way you handle customer correspondence.

Have you been texting?  

The CRM is vital to a dealerships growth and development. Housing all of the transactional data. Everything from leads, sold customers, unsold customers, and service customers. That said, it is even more important to make sure there are not duplicate profiles for the same customer. 

There is not a single roadmap to the sale. A customer will most likely convert from multiple websites before s/he chooses to commit to an appointment or decides to visit the dealership. Each and every time the customer converts their new lead may or may not “automatically” merge with their original profile within the CRM. 

In the last month, however, this has been a considerable debate: that is, “to merge or not to merge.” There is a grave concern that transactional data could go missing when merging a customer profile. However, if merged effectively each additional “conversion” should be shown as a “duplicate lead.” 

What this does not offer, though is that you still should review each vendors results regarding conversion. For example, on your dealer website, you might have converted 367 leads, BUT only 169 organic (new) leads. Therefore, having 198 duplicate leads. Let’s say Jane Doe has 5 leads, and only 2 merged in the CRM as 1 profile. That leaves 3 additional profiles in the CRM for one customer. 

While no one wants to lose the information regarding conversion or lead count (you can always review analytics),  one does want to make sure that all leads are merged (if there are duplicates), and the data is in one profile. This will ensure that the customer's information is in one place versus having multiple profiles for the same customer. 

Have you ever called a customer and they said “ugh, I was in your store yesterday” because the lead was not merged? And the customer submitted a coupon lead before they made their purchase? The answer is probably, yes! 

Here are some of the best practices when it comes to merging the customers lead: 

Cross-Check the CRM - what lead came in first?

As mentioned above, there is not a single one size fits all road to the sale. The customer can convert on multiple sites before they make their final decision. That said, before merging the lead, you should always cross-check the CRM to make sure the customer does not already exist by searching with their phone number, and then their email. 

One of the concerns with merging is that you can lose the “conversion” point aka the source in which the lead converted from last. However, if the customer first converted off of the OEM site (and maybe it was a spouse, first) within the previous 30 days and you are actively working with the customer then you should merge the leads. Where the OEM is the original lead ID & the third party is a duplicate. Making sure that if the customer used another email or phone number to capture both contacts! 

If the customer converted a year ago or was made “inactive," then you would have a new profile for the customer. As there has not been any interaction with the customer within 30 days. The key, though, is that there is still one profile for the customer. Versus having two separate profiles. The first lead is “inactive," and the “new lead” is the newest opportunity. 

Primary Buyer vs. Secondary - Credit Applications 

It is not uncommon for a customer to have their spouse or significant other be a co-signer on the deal. Wherein, the co-signer will complete the “pre-approval” online creating a new lead. That lead, however, should be merged with the customer who is purchasing the vehicle. The credit application will show as a “duplicate” lead within the CRM. 

Now, in the CRM - you should still save the co-buyers information. A lot of CRM’s offer the ability to add“co-buyers” to their profile. Allowing you to save their information without having to keep multiple profiles in the CRM. The “buyer” though should be the primary name on the lead. Along with their information. 

Phone Numbers 

When merging leads, it is imperative to make sure that you keep all of the data - unless of course, the customer used a fake phone number in their first lead, which is not all that uncommon. 

The customer - in many cases - will include a home number in the first lead (or just an email), but offer their cell-phone number on the coupon lead converting off of your dealer website. In this case, you should make sure you note down which number is the cell, and which is the home. 

Emails 

Customers are smart. In many cases, they will have a “spam” email which is used early on in the buying process. However, as they work their way down the funnel - converting off of the dealer website - they will more often than not use their personal email. 

If the customer has *never* opened an email on their “spam” email, then it is not necessary to keep it! Continuing to “spam” an email (for the sake of sending another email blast) will not only run you the risk of getting flagged as being spam but also getting black-listed. 

If it isn’t being used. Lose it. Remember, this is not a coffee shop - where, in  6 months you are digging through your email account to find the long lost email containing the coupon that probably expired 6 months ago. Instead, if you are using their “active” email - you are already sending them a coupon each month! 

Address Updates - What is the Current Address? 

Customers usually do not offer their address in the lead form. Ever, really. That said, it is important when the customer does complete the credit application that you take the time to make sure their home address is up to date. 

Bottom Line:

It is essential to understand how each vendor is performing using their analytics. But it also just as important to keep an organized CRM. Understanding how many customers you actually have. What CRM’s could offer is a “road to the sale”providing a report on the various conversion points of the customer. As I am sure there are trends/patterns in how customers convert offline before making their decision. Until then, keep merging, and review the analytics with each vendor seeing how they are performing.  

Do you merge leads? If not, what is your reasoning behind leaving multiple profiles within the CRM? Do you find your staff accidentally calling a customer who has already sold or been in the showroom because it was not merged? 
 

The goal is to book an appointment converting the phone-ups and internet leads into showroom visits. That goal, though can be hindered when the mindset of the staff (BDC or Sales team) is to ‘book’ an appointment regardless of what the customer is saying.

Wherein, if the BDC or sales consultant asks at least three times and the customer still says ‘no’ and you continue to press for that ‘tentative appointment’ where the customer most likely obliges to get you off the phone. Having no intentions of coming into the store. 

P.S. Did you ask if they had a pencil handy? Next time, just text instead. 

Here are the top reasons to avoid this approach using a more realistic approach. With the goal, of course, to convert the customer into a showroom visit: 

What is the real objection? 

If the customer is not wanting to come in for a test drive having inquired online (especially for pre-owned) than there is an objection that we have to overcome. Namely, there is a reason the customer does not want to agree to an appointment. It is our job to work through these objections so that we can secure the appointment. 

The objections could be mileage, age, price, trade-in value concerns, APR, etc. Working with the customer asking A/B questions can assist in breaking down the barriers. Making the customer feel comfortable and most importantly valued. 

This cannot happen, though if the sole focus is that appointment without taking the time to build rapport with the customer. Not listening to their wants and needs. Where pushing them into an appointment is the top priority. 

Tentative is not Definitive =  Time Wasted. 

Everyone’s time is important. That said if the customer stated “I could probably/maybe come in on Tuesday” it does not mean that they are coming in. To make matters worse or in some cases awkward - let's say the manager is proactive and calls and “confirms” the “appointment.”  Where the customer states “I never said I was coming in for sure,” which now makes it that much harder to work with the customer building a rapport that breaks down the barriers. 

Had the consultant worked with the customer (handling the objections: listening to their needs) that could have been a “definite” appointment. And remember, this is not to say that you should not be asking for the appointment if the customer immediately objects. What I am offering is that when the customer does not “agree” to an appointment instead of going for a “tentative” appointment, the focus should be towards handling the objections. So that you can secure a definite appointment. 

How many tentative appointments actually show? Do you keep track of this? If not, I would review your set/show/sold rate on appointments.

It is About ‘ME’ Not ‘YOU.’ 

The competition is intense these days where customers demands are at an all-time high. The customer wants a good experience - albeit, the word “experience” is ambiguous, and can be defined uniquely by each customer, which is all the more reason to offer a streamlined approach when handling appointments avoiding the world of “tentative.” 

If the customer senses that you are pushing an appointment without answering their questions, they will back-off. It reminds me of a popular brands commercial that touts the notion of: tired of dealing with a sales consultant wanting to sell you what they want? Not what you want? Don’t be one of those guys! And while not all of this perspective is directly related to tentative appointments - it does offer the idea of why are we booking something tentative when we can book something definitive by working with the customer?

Here Are Some of the Best Ways to Handle the Situation: 

Appointments Are Not Always Booked on the First Call or Day! 

This would undoubtedly be a dream come true! I mean who would not want to book every appointment on the first call or day? One thing you have to keep in mind is that it is not the end of the world if you do not get the appointment on the first try. Some customers require more information before making the commitment to come in. 

The first call does, however, have to make a good impression on the customer! If the customer genuinely believes that you have their best interest in mind more often than not they will work with you. And once s/he feels that you answered their questions - having broken down the barrier - your chances of securing an actual appointment will increase dramatically. 

Handle the Objections with Confidence! 

Remember, as mentioned above if the customer is not in agreement to come in for an appointment then there some objections that have yet to be addressed. When the customer does not book, DO not GIVE UP. Instead, work through the objections. Here are some of the most common objections and ways to respond: 

I have Found the Vehicle (pre-owned) for a Better Price at ABC Motors

Mr. customer, I am most happy to review it with you. We do have the best price available for this unit. The one I looked up for you has 2k additional miles. This is also an FWD and as we discussed you were specifically hoping for an AWD vehicle. When are you available to come in for a test drive? 

Not saying it always happens like this, but more often than not the vehicle they are comparing us to are not one in the same. 

Why is ABC Motors Showing the Price (for new) at $1,500 Less than You?  

Mr. customer, we make every effort to show genuine pricing. Where we do not include discounts such as student and military. However, of course, if you were to be eligible for either program we will certainly take advantage of that discount. Please also note, too, that our processing fee is “X” amount less than ABC Motors. In total, we’re actually “X” less than they are. When are you available to come in for a test drive?

Honesty is key! But do not be afraid to show the differences (if there are any) regarding price! 

I Want to know the Value of my Trade-in Before I Make the Commitment. 

Mr. Customer, I understand. Let me ask you this - you want to come in and look at the vehicle before you purchase it, right? Well, we would like the same chance you have and look at the vehicle before we make a commitment. I will offer you, however, that based on the information in which you have entered it could be as much as “range.” That said, the best thing to do is have our appraisal team review the vehicle while you are on your test drive. Saving you time. When are you available to come in for a test drive?

There several other ways to handle this objection, BUT one of the best ways of doing so is being honest with the customer. Offering that we have to see the unit, in which case we would then be able to finalize an offer. 

Bottom line: 

If it is tentative, it is not definitive. And who wants to live in a world of uncertainty. How do you handle tentative appointments? Do you have great success with them? 

Join the conversation today! 
 

BDC in the simplest form simply means Business Development Center. A department that is placed in the center of the business that develops business through lead generation, marketing, CRM Management (sales/service) & Vendor Management. In some cases, the BDC will also handle anything from IT, Job Description Development,  & System ADMIN. 

If you review industry standards and trends, however, the BDC is still one of the most debated departments. Wherein, in many conversations, a BDC is seen as a “crutch” or a department that is solely in place to do what sales consultants “refuse” to do, which is - hold for it -  “develop business” through customer inquiries whether that be on the phone or online. 

While there are different camps on the topic of BDC offices -  fascinatingly enough the role of a sales consultant largely has not changed. And while the sales consultant role has changed in some dealers (perhaps those that are more progressive) there is still the need to “develop” business whether that is redefining the traditional sales consultant role or hiring a BDC. But make no mistake - a BDC is not about “doing” what a sales consultant “refuses” to do. Instead, it’s about increasing your store's customer base, which in turn increases sales. 

Here are some things to consider when discussing what a BDC is and/or Does

Companies Do Have Business Development Offices 

It is no secret that major corporations have business development offices that develop business. Handing off “hot leads” to their sales consultants or account executives.  Instead of the conversation being about what BDC’s replace, it should be about what they are developing. Namely, you still need sales consultants. However, imagine if you had a department whose sole focus was to bring customers to your store? Creating a pipeline of business from multiple avenues diversifying your revenue streams. Managing everything from chats, marketing, to the mundane CRM Management. Ensuring that the sales consultant is only spending time with customers who are in the store. Ones that are - again - only visiting less than 2 dealers before purchasing a vehicle; or working customers that they have previously sold too. When was the last time you consistently called and managed an equity mining list taking advantage of the OEM's loyalty program, which can produce a positive front-end gross on a new car deal?

Manage incoming Leads & Customer Chats

The age-old argument of the sales consultants are just not good on the phone is a lazy excuse. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. But this mindset and trend most likely stems from the fact that for so long in the auto industry sales consultants did not have to spend as much time calling, emailing, texting, sending videos, or speaking with customers before their visiting the store. 

The customer had to look through the phone-book select the closest dealer, and they made their journey and purchased. Albeit, this is not offering that selling a car was easy in those days. The days front-grosses on new vehicles were a thing.  But things have obviously changed. The customer is not buying just a car. In fact,  once the customer has made up their mind on the vehicle s/he is more interested in the story your brand is telling. Asking themselves are they getting a good deal, and are you someone that they want to do business with. 

Offering all of those things via email, chat & phone can be very time-consuming. Wherein it takes on average 10-12 touches per lead (with an average of 4 days to close the lead) before they convert to the showroom. If the sales consultant spends their day and is closing 1 to 2 in 4 days - imagine what they can do if they are not focused on converting that customer. Instead, they are solely focused on who is in front of them, and they are selling 3-4 in 4 days. Not to mention closing showroom ups as well. Having a BDC who is able to convert an additional 10% of leads to an appointment (as the average closing rate is 10%) can make a huge difference. Not just in the volume of sales, but the bottom line. 

One Less Visit 

With the average customer only visiting less than two dealerships before their purchase they are spending much more time online doing their research. And while they might not always reach to the dealer before their visit they are reviewing the information that is available. Information that is needed to be updated in near real time. Everything from inventory photos, custom descriptions, social posts, website content, blogs, employee pages, customer reviews, all of which can tell a positive story. A story that sells your brand. That all can and is in many cases something that your BDC can handle. 

You might have an in-house marketing team, BUT how often can they (rightfully so) make a change in real time that can help your business? 

You might have an app, too that can tell you about that negative review that needs to be handled immediately, but are you going to spend 20 minutes calling the vendor who handles your social media when you have a BDC rep readily available to manage the situation in real time? 

BDC’s Are Not Replacing Sales Consultants 

One of the arguments that is quite common is this perception that the BDC is better or are replacing sales consultants. And that is the furthest thing from the truth. In fact, both are two very different roles. And while there is a lot of pushback (trust me, I have been there with some of the sales managers in my dealer experience) a BDC that is effective can make or break a dealer's bottom line. Ensuring that the sales volume is increasing through converting additional traffic. 

Sales Consultants can sell the product. And at the end of the day, that is the goal. But getting to that point of being able to “sell the vehicle” takes more than just being a sales consultant. Hence, you have a department that feeds the sales consultants customers to sell vehicles too. Let the BDC handle/manage brand awareness, customer service, and lead conversion into the showroom. Imagine working with a customer whose defenses are lowered because they have already made up their minds believing you are advocating for them. 

Bottom Line: 

Instead of the conversation focusing on what is a BDC - the discussion should shift, and focus on what they can and have done to increase business? How has your BDC changed the way you do business at your dealership? Have you had a BDC that has failed miserably? 

Join the conversation here! 

Having a Social Media account is more than just adding photos, videos, or curating collective, effective content. Social media accounts develop, define, and test your brand’s image. An image that if not handled efficiently can change from good to bad to ugly in the matter of -seriously - seconds.

This article, though, is not meant to scare, intimidate or advise your dealer from having social media accounts. What it is offering, however, is that there ought to be guidelines in which the store has to follow. That includes the dealer having exclusive access, and ownership to their employees brand pages.

That is not a favorable statement for many. In fact, there has been much debate lately as to whether or not the dealer should have the right to ‘own,’ and/or remove social media accounts of past employees. Employees who have curated content using the dealer's likeness to build a customer base.

That customer base - while constructed by the employee - was built using the dealerships likeness, brand image, inventory, and digital assets. Whereas, in other business models there is a 1099 contractor who pays for their own advertising costs (including steep membership and marketing costs) for using the brand's image and likeness. Including, but not limited to following strict guidelines in content, brand image manipulation, logo manipulation, and inventory placement.

If that does not have you squirming a bit - here are the top reasons your dealer needs to have a social media policy.

Public Image Employee Branding Page Vs. Company Branding

Sure, John Doe is a great guy. He is the kind of guy everyone likes. John has 2,700+ followers on his Twitter account. With over 983 people talking about it. John is off to an incredible start. His customers are leaving rave tweets on John’s page. Sending him new clients every month!

This all sounds incredible, no? Every dealer’s dream come true. Free traffic. Well, here is the deal. No traffic is free. Not to mention, all of that ‘traffic’ that John has collected is not in possession of the dealer. Despite the fact that John used the dealer's likeness, assets, and public image to promote himself to sell the brand.

So, meanwhile - one day John gets involved in a public Twitter war where his words were not chosen so wisely. Despite the fact that John deleted the Tweets making his account private the damage has already been done.

Customers then start to slowly disembark themselves from wanting to be involved with your brand or John.  Leaving you on the outs! Think this doesn’t happen?  How many celebrity endorsements have been damaged or have damaged brands?

There are two types of social image brand damage: Company Damage & the Wrong person handling the Issue

Just this past month a Florida dealer was in the eye of a social media frenzy, well a storm actually. The dealer was accused of parking their vehicles at Florida State University (using their parking garages) - FSU, had made a statement offering its students/public had access to their parking garages to seek shelter for their vehicles. With the number of vehicles parked in the garage from the dealership, not all students were able to secure their vehicles for the storm.

This resulted in a nasty, 400+ negative review spree - including hundreds of negative comments on their brand's page. And to make matters worse their response was not necessarily offering an apology, but rather their ‘support’ for the school, and their being unaware of it being an issue. Despite there being two sides to every story their brand was at the height of a social storm one that can leave a damaging aftermath.

Now, just as I mentioned above, the person who handled this situation at the dealer level might not have been the owner or the one who was to have made the decision. However, because the public ‘viewed’ him/her as the brand representative, all the damage was reflected towards the dealer. Not to the employee who handled the situation.

All that to say regardless of whether the employee is branding their own page or managing the dealers page all of the ‘content’ that is posted is - in most cases - directly reflecting your brand's image.

Data Property - Who Owns the Data?

Dealers are spending thousands and thousands of dollars monthly to promote their brands. In recent NADA studies - customer acquisition costs are at an all-time high costing a dealer more than $650 to sell a vehicle.

With the costs at an all-time high, are employees brands page’s customers the dealerships or their own?

The dealer is still paying for the image, likeness, inventory, and - most importantly - dealing with the liability for their pages. That said, think about it (as mentioned above) those 1099 companies/business models such as AVON, Mary Kay, ReMax, Plexus Slim all require their subcontractors to use their sites. And beyond the website, they are also required to use their social media guidelines. In addition to most likely having to pay a royalty fee for using their public image, and likeness which is what results in their acquiring of new customers.

While I can sympathize with the employee whose efforts are there - like the ones that are creating their own brand page - the fact still remains that if it weren’t for the dealer's inventory, image, brand assets you wouldn’t or in most cases couldn't afford to acquire new customers. Not to mention manage (or pay for) the floor plan that is substantiating the steep costs of managing millions in inventory.

OEM Compliancy

More often than not people do not understand just how much there is involved when it comes to creating, developing, and curating content that is compliant with your OEM. Everything from the font, images, logos, pricing, and disclaimers have specific credentials. If your employee - who is managing their own page - does not give the dealer access, it opens up a can of worms regarding the brand.

For example, John Doe decides that they want to build some weekend business with offering a coupon (no harm no foul, right?). A coupon off the already low internet price for both new and used.

Unbeknownst to John, the OEM states that if offering a coupon on the sale of a new vehicle the coupon has to be off of MSRP - not the internet price.

The OEM flags the ad, and before you know it you’re receiving a strike (or whatever the fine or process is with your OEM) for failing to comply. Yet, you were unaware. Now, imagine if your brand only allotted just 3 strikes. And if receiving 3 strikes meant that you weren’t eligible for a brand program - you’d have the potential to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars as you were not aware of the branding going on regarding private accounts.

If that does not have your attention not sure what else would!?

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that while you are not wanting to discourage the use of social media, there has to be a clear, concise policy that is tailored to your brand. This will ensure the protection of your brand's image while promoting it in a healthy, stable, but effective way.

Not having standards & guidelines other than ‘ethical’ guidelines, which includes, but is not limited to the acts of racism, and sexual harassment.  There are other things to consider such as a controversial brand you might not support, but your employee still  ‘likes/supports’ the brand on his/her page, which still reflects your brand.  That alone can cause quite a bit of controversy.

I encourage you to check out what's being said about your brand. Not just on your store's page, but on pages that are using your brand. I am confident that you will be shocked to see how many pages and social media accounts that are out there that you were completely unaware of - that includes former employees who might still be acquiring customers from your brand! (who handles your off-boarding process?)

How do you handle social media at your store? Do you allow employees to have and manage their own pages? If so, what guidelines or policies have been implemented?

All we ever talk about - it seems - is response time, engagement rate, closing rate, set-rate, show-rate the list goes on. And while I am not saying that the above is not important (because it is very important) what I am saying is that Dealers might be missing the point.

The point of we spend so much time worrying about leads and where they come from, response, time, engagement rate, set-rate, show rate, close rate (even writing it twice can be annoying, really) but why haven’t we taken the time to understand and review when those leads are hitting the CRM?

The busiest time for lead traffic based on a year over year study showed that between the hours of  12:00 - 2:00 pm was the busiest time.

77% of the appointments for Internet Leads (OEM, Third Party, & Dealer Website) were booked between the hours of 8-5PM

By the way, this is not an argument entirely for an amazing BDC Manager schedule, either. Rather it was a wake up call to optimize the success rate and ROI for all of the money being spent on leads - with several stores spending over $10k a month in leads.

In order to work with the data, we used a year over year lead data on third Party, Dealer Website, & OEM leads. Once we exported the leads we broke down the traffic times by using the timestamps on the lead submissions. Breaking it into three sections - 12AM - 7AM | 8AM - 5PM | 5-11PM.

It was found that 85% of the leads (OEM, Third Party, & Dealer Website) came into the CRM Monday - Friday 8-5PM. With less than 12% of the leads coming in after 7PM.

Taking it a step further we exported the appointments report for internet leads YOY - using a report that timestamped the time in which the appointment was created. In addition to whether the appointment showed or sold - breaking it down, again, by third party, OEM, & Dealer Website.

77% of the appointments year over year were booked between the hours of 8-5PM with a show rate of 72% and a sold rate of 58% with the busiest time for booking appointments being 12:17PM (to be precise) with more than ¾ of the appointments being booked between the hours of 12-1PM (lunch time, no?)

Appointments booked after 5PM - 12AM had a show rate of under 48% - where the top source of leads derived from OEM & Third Party (please note that I am referring to the lead that came in after 5PM that booked an appointment that day had a *slim* show rate).

If the leads come in between the hours of 8-5PM there had to be a reason, no? Well - there is a reason - 60%+ of car buyers today use their mobile phone. No longer does the customer need a desktop to surf the web. Therefore, it is considered best practice If paid search (SEO/SEM) is strategized to be spent during certain hours than you should see an increase of leads during those hours.

Google bases your “busy” hours based on web traffic - why haven’t they shared this yet I wonder? - so why not take advantage of it? Or maybe we are just ignoring it?

That said, we switched our BDC hours to 9-6PM - one rep working the graveyard shift 11-8PM (with me the BDC Manager working 8-5PM), and we have seen a *significant* increase in not only our set rate, but our sold rate!! This has been a *huge* game changer.