There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to find what you're looking for online - we have all been there. The same applies to our potential customers who are bouncing from site to site, trying to find their vehicle of choice. Where, in many cases, the customer knows more about the car than the dealer does (scary, right?). 

So what can we take away from this dilemma? For starters, we need to make sure that the information we provide online regarding inventory is correct. And while most - if not all - VINS decode automatically, it does not mean that that particular vehicle has those features. And we get it, the car has air conditioning - so why are we posting those "features" first? 

For example, there are many "widgets" or "plugins" offered today - that dealers use on their VDP's - that highlight specific features your vehicle may or may not have. The keyword is "may have." So when the customer is looking online, and the tool decodes the VIN and says that it has "x" feature (mostly pre-owned), and it does not - it causes an unnecessary breakpoint. Not to mention, when/if the customer calls into the Dealership, your team might not even be aware as to whether or not it has that feature or not. In which case, they have to go take photos, ask the manager who is in the middle of a TO, etc. 

To avoid this breakpoint, the used car sales managers must be in the loop with regards to what vehicles are in their inventory. More so, by taking no more than 20 or 30 minutes a day to review their used stock inventory, they can check the "highlighted" features on select units. Starting with non-OEM makes/models first. This way, if you notice that certain features are missing and/or there are listed features that are not applicable, you can easily remove them from the VDP. Remembering, less is more - highlight the "key" or "unique" features, and move onto the next! 

One of the other things your used car sales manager can do is provide the team with an up-to-date inventory list. We use a Google Sheet, so we can edit in real-time, and are not otherwise having to print out a book each morning. For those are unwilling to use the Google Sheet, they can easily print it out. The point is that if you are supplying your team - especially the BDC Agents - with facts/information about your vehicles, it makes it that much easier to work with a potential customer. 

Bottom Line: by providing the correct information on the site - along with your team having the right info - it offers the customer a much better experience. Versus your having to "check the lot," and take photos, and take the time to get with multiple managers, etc. all to answer whether or not it has "x" feature. The customer - on the other end - does not know how the process works, or that we have more than twelve units going through recon so you might not even know where the vehicle is, etc. 

How does your dealer avoid this breakpoint? Do you actively monitor or check your pre-owned inventory regarding its features? When is the last time you spot checked your "features" plugin for those that use one? 
 

In a perfect world, we could efficiently address customer breakpoints offering them a seamless experience. Whether that is changing the sales process, or creating a more streamlined omnichannel experience. However, before we can improve the customer's experience by addressing the breakpoints. We need to first address our own, that is, with our employees. If your employees are not engaged, or worse - not trained - how can you expect them to offer the customer a better experience? Here are the top two things to review with your team. 

Dealer Training. Do Your Sales Consultants Know the Process? 

While the OEM training is critical, so is instruction on how your dealer runs the sales process, which includes paperwork, delivery, etc. If your sales consultant is not familiar with your sales process, it can and will cause breakpoints during the process and disrupt the customer's experience. In which case, those breakpoints can affect the customer's overall experience. There is nothing worse than the customer's experience breaking down in the finance office because they are missing paperwork, the paperwork is wrong, etc. At which point, they are now delayed - causing everyone else ahead of them to also be delayed. If you have trained the sales consultant on what is expected for the paperwork, then it can decrease the chances of this occurring. 

When is the last time you went over the documents process with your sales consultants besides a little blurb on one of your sales meetings? Save yourselves a headache and put together a binder that has all of the commonly required paperwork. 

Deal Folders. Does Every Vehicle Have A Packet Made With All the Documents Needed? 

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen sales consultants running around creating new deal jacket copies. What's worse, though, is that they are from previous copies - making it nearly impossible for the customer to read them, let alone know where to sign the document. This could all be avoided if you had made deal packets for each vehicle. 

Those documents could include the following: 

- Sales to Service Handoff (if you give the customer oil changes, etc.)

- We-Owe's (accessories, or anything pertaining to the vehicle for after the sale)  

- Social Media Release Form 

- Lemon Law (for states it applies in)

- Privacy Notice 

The above are just some of the samples of documents you can include in the sales packets. Even better, most CRM's allow you to create printable documents for each deal, which would then include the customer's name, vehicle, and other relevant information. Not only does this make it easier for both the sales consultant and the customer, but it also looks more professional. And can ensure that you are not missing any documents that otherwise have to be completed. Doing something as simple as the above can have an immediate positive impact. 

Bottom Line: if your sales consultants are not sure of what the sales process is, how can they effectively assist the customer? And only mentioning items in the sales meeting is likely not going to address the top breakpoints in the customer's overall experience. Instead, take the time to make sure your sales consultants are aware of the required documents for purchasing a vehicle. By reviewing the required documents, it will offer the customer a better experience. This can also lessen the chances of the customers missing documents when they get into the Finance office, which can delay their deal getting completed. Not to mention, it pushes back everyone else who is behind them. 

How do you train your sales consultants on the sales process? Do you use your CRM to print out deal packets? 

Birthdays are supposed to be a great time of the year, it's your birthday after all, no? But one Birthday you want to avoid is the vehicles on your dealer's lot! Knowing that every day the car sits on the lot, it can cost you thousands of dollars in floor plan interest. To avoid celebrating a birthday for one of your vehicles, here are some things you can do! 

Send the Pre-Owned Vehicle to Auction. If You Cannot Sell It, Lose It! 

Maybe it is the wrong color, too many miles, too many in your market, whatever the case is, if you are unable to sell it after more than sixty days on the lot - then you need to get rid of it! Even if you lose money at auction, it could still be less expensive to send it to the auction than to keep it on your lot, paying floor-plan and still taking a loss to sell the vehicle. Before you do take it to auction, be sure to check out the pricing. If the pricing is off in that you have over-priced the car for your market going rate, then you can try and salvage it by changing the pricing. 

Do Not Over Allow On the Trade-In. This Can Easily Wind-Up Making Your Dealer Celebrate A Birthday. 

It might be tempting to over allow on that trade-in to get the new car deal, which means that you wind up making the OEM bonus. However, make no mistake - while you might get that tiered OEM bonus for each unit sold, it still might not make sense to over allow on that trade-in just to make the OEM bonus. Albeit, if that is the only way humanly possible to make the tiered bonuses, and it is a substantial amount, then by all means, do it. But instead of trying to sell the pre-owned vehicle on your lot, take the loss now rather than later knowing that you're going to spend 'X' amount to rid yourself of the car. 

Know Your Market. Use the Trade-In Reporting Tools to Your Advantage. 

It is no secret that the customer wants transparency on their end when it comes to the value of their vehicle. So when it comes time to giving them a value on their trade-in - one that you know is not going to sell well - present the documentation that shows that. This is by no means offering that this will always work, either.  But the point and purpose of doing so is to show the customer that there is not much demand for their vehicle. And as such, you cannot give them a value that is above the current fair market assessment. If this means that the customer is going to walk away, then you have to make a mutually beneficial decision. As mentioned earlier, if you need to sell one or two more new vehicles to get an OEM kick-back, then, by all means, take the deal. However, it is best to have an immediate plan of action so that the vehicle does not wind up having a birthday. 

Too Much Time In Recon Does You No Favors. 

While there might be an internal process for handling trade-ins, getting them front line ready, any delays can wind up costing you money. And while putting a vehicle on the website - without photos might work - we all know it is harder to sell a car without photos. One of the things you can do if the vehicle is not in terrible condition is to use one or more of the pictures from the trade-in. This way, you at least have a few photos to show the customer while it is working its way through the recon process. 

Bottom Line: There is no one right answer on how to manage your trade-ins and or preventing a vehicle from having a birthday. What there are suggestions on, however, is how to avoid a car from having a birthday. With the notion that there are many ways to handle the issue. One of them is offering the customer a trade-in value that makes sense. Think about it, if the customers only objection is their trade-in value, then perhaps there is another underlying objection, which could be their payment or APR. So if you can resolve the other objections without increasing the value on the trade or over allowing on the trade, then you can actively avoid an issue. 

How do you prevent vehicles from having a birthday? 

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!