There are times when a call is in order to a previous customer, but the question seems to be, "What do I need to say to the customer?"  A lot of times, a renewal call is treated like a normal touching base call to keep your name in front of the customer.  That is not the case.

The reason for a renewal call is to get them back in the store and get them thinking about a new vehicle.  There are a few steps to do to make it an effective call to the customer.

1. Look at the previous deal.  Most CRM tools will store all of the pertinant information in the system and you should know if they bought or leased, what their payment is, and maturity dates.
2. Maybe do an online evaluation of their vehicle to see if they may be in an equity situation.  We all need nice trades and they are the best source to get them.
3. Check notes and history with the customer.  Make small talk before going for the appointment.  This goes back to making great notes in the system so you can refer back to them down the road.  If their son is playing soccer, make a note of it and when you call them, you can say, "Is johnny still playing soccer?"  This will make you stand out from the other salesmen.
4. Check inventory to see if you have something like what they bought from you last time or even a possible upgrade where you think you can keep their payment close to what they are paying now.

After this quick evaluation, call them.  The number one goal is to get them in to discuss options with them.  Once you get them in, go from step one of the sales process and qualify them in what they may want or need and go from there.  Get these calls done early in the month as people do tend to get busier as the month goes on.

There are times when a call is in order to a previous customer, but the question seems to be, "What do I need to say to the customer?"  A lot of times, a renewal call is treated like a normal touching base call to keep your name in front of the customer.  That is not the case.

The reason for a renewal call is to get them back in the store and get them thinking about a new vehicle.  There are a few steps to do to make it an effective call to the customer.

1. Look at the previous deal.  Most CRM tools will store all of the pertinant information in the system and you should know if they bought or leased, what their payment is, and maturity dates.
2. Maybe do an online evaluation of their vehicle to see if they may be in an equity situation.  We all need nice trades and they are the best source to get them.
3. Check notes and history with the customer.  Make small talk before going for the appointment.  This goes back to making great notes in the system so you can refer back to them down the road.  If their son is playing soccer, make a note of it and when you call them, you can say, "Is johnny still playing soccer?"  This will make you stand out from the other salesmen.
4. Check inventory to see if you have something like what they bought from you last time or even a possible upgrade where you think you can keep their payment close to what they are paying now.

After this quick evaluation, call them.  The number one goal is to get them in to discuss options with them.  Once you get them in, go from step one of the sales process and qualify them in what they may want or need and go from there.  Get these calls done early in the month as people do tend to get busier as the month goes on.

Over the last few weeks, I have been thinking about the last 15 years or so that I have been in the Automotive Business. I think back to my first days on the sales floor and how stoked I was to be there and have a job even though I had NO idea what I was doing. You want me to talk to people about cars and get paid for it? Sure, sign me up. Then, we start to learn things and habits, and the production seems to go down a little.  We go from kindergarten to 7th grade in a matter of months and we know everything.

So why is it that a 'green-pea' in the business can do so well and how can we keep that fire going? We all have them and highly recommend hiring someone green so you can mold them how you want them.  In our store, we have two salesmen that are green in the business. They never really were in sales and in the last two months, the two of them have sold 54 cars with a combined closing rate of 39% (they do log everyone as they do things to the T). So I posed the question to them, "What do you attribute your success to in such a short time in the auto business?". Here is their short list that they came up with.

1.  "Stupidity." I asked him what he meant by this. He said that "I have no idea what goes on in that office with numbers and how to get to certain payments. I just go and have fun with customers and sell them what they need."
2. "I come to work to work. I'm not here to socialize and hang out with the guys." I will attest to this. He is there to work and rarely if ever do I see him just hanging out and talking in the circle that we have in all of our stores.
3. "Management."  The management team at the dealership has been great.  They don't just throw you out in the lions den and work with you every day to improve skills.
4. "A great Sales Team to work with."  Everyone has been 'willing to show the ropes of the car business and offer plenty of encouragement.'
5. "Talk to everyone, even service customers."  How many times do you say to a salesperson, "There's a person out there on the lot" and the ir response is "yeah, they're just in for service."  The new guys will always go out and talk to those people.  You have to talk to people.  The more people you talk to, the more successful you will be.
6. Product Knowledge.  "I spend a great deal of time learning the product.  If I don't know the answer, I tell them I don't know and will find out for them."  Honesty is the key.  Knowing your product and the competitors is the key.  Also, know what the others in your local market are doing and handling their customers. 
7. Knowledge of the staff.  The knowledge that the managers and work associates share is monumental.  Learning from the best in the business huge. 
8. Coffee.  It's the caffeine that keeps me going. 
9. Hard Work.  Work ethic is key in this business.  You can get sucked into all of the circles and just shooting the breeze with the guys.  When you are here, you need to work for the success that others have had in this business.

If you keep your eye on the ball, it will come to you and hit it out of the park and be successful.  To keep that green-pea attitude does take work and we all know that and sometimes we all have to be reminded of it.

What do you hear from your "green-peas?"

Over the last few weeks, I have been thinking about the last 15 years or so that I have been in the Automotive Business. I think back to my first days on the sales floor and how stoked I was to be there and have a job even though I had NO idea what I was doing. You want me to talk to people about cars and get paid for it? Sure, sign me up. Then, we start to learn things and habits, and the production seems to go down a little.  We go from kindergarten to 7th grade in a matter of months and we know everything.

So why is it that a 'green-pea' in the business can do so well and how can we keep that fire going? We all have them and highly recommend hiring someone green so you can mold them how you want them.  In our store, we have two salesmen that are green in the business. They never really were in sales and in the last two months, the two of them have sold 54 cars with a combined closing rate of 39% (they do log everyone as they do things to the T). So I posed the question to them, "What do you attribute your success to in such a short time in the auto business?". Here is their short list that they came up with.

1.  "Stupidity." I asked him what he meant by this. He said that "I have no idea what goes on in that office with numbers and how to get to certain payments. I just go and have fun with customers and sell them what they need."
2. "I come to work to work. I'm not here to socialize and hang out with the guys." I will attest to this. He is there to work and rarely if ever do I see him just hanging out and talking in the circle that we have in all of our stores.
3. "Management."  The management team at the dealership has been great.  They don't just throw you out in the lions den and work with you every day to improve skills.
4. "A great Sales Team to work with."  Everyone has been 'willing to show the ropes of the car business and offer plenty of encouragement.'
5. "Talk to everyone, even service customers."  How many times do you say to a salesperson, "There's a person out there on the lot" and the ir response is "yeah, they're just in for service."  The new guys will always go out and talk to those people.  You have to talk to people.  The more people you talk to, the more successful you will be.
6. Product Knowledge.  "I spend a great deal of time learning the product.  If I don't know the answer, I tell them I don't know and will find out for them."  Honesty is the key.  Knowing your product and the competitors is the key.  Also, know what the others in your local market are doing and handling their customers. 
7. Knowledge of the staff.  The knowledge that the managers and work associates share is monumental.  Learning from the best in the business huge. 
8. Coffee.  It's the caffeine that keeps me going. 
9. Hard Work.  Work ethic is key in this business.  You can get sucked into all of the circles and just shooting the breeze with the guys.  When you are here, you need to work for the success that others have had in this business.

If you keep your eye on the ball, it will come to you and hit it out of the park and be successful.  To keep that green-pea attitude does take work and we all know that and sometimes we all have to be reminded of it.

What do you hear from your "green-peas?"

Here we are at the beginning of a new month.  We are all employed for another 30 days.  Whew!There is a myth in the autobusiness that the best car deals are at the end of the month.  I know from personal experience as a sales manager for several years, this can be so true and the general public knows it.  I got to thinking this past week in how are the deals from the first part of the month different from the last part of the month.  Why do we as sales managers pass on a deal that we will take a the end of the month?  One word comes to mind and that is goals.  Should they be different?  No.  They should be worked the same 100% of the time.  No matter how big or how small the profit is, move the metal and gain the customer no matter what part of the month it is.

In 2009 as a dealership, we missed getting the prestigeous Honda President's Award by a mere 18 units for the year.  If we would not have passed on the few deals that we did early on in the month, we probably would have gotten our award.  We as managers think to ourselves that we have a gem (whether new or used) on our lot and think, we can make more money than the customer is offering, so I will pass on this one and make it up on the next one.  We have to change that mindset and even if it is a little shorter deal than we would like, take it now, make a customer, and hope that they keep coming back for service, repeat sales, and referrals from that customer.  We can replace metal, but not a customer

My 2 cents is no matter how big or small the profit is, no matter what part of the month it is, move the unit and invest that money in something else and gain a customer now, earn their business in service and parts, and ask them for the referral.  If you don't have a referral program in place, get one and give the customer some money for sending in prospects.  The best form of advertising is word of mouth and if a customer in the beginning of the month doesn't get 'the deal' in the beginning of the month, they may tell all of their friends verbally and via social networking.

Here we are at the beginning of a new month.  We are all employed for another 30 days.  Whew!There is a myth in the autobusiness that the best car deals are at the end of the month.  I know from personal experience as a sales manager for several years, this can be so true and the general public knows it.  I got to thinking this past week in how are the deals from the first part of the month different from the last part of the month.  Why do we as sales managers pass on a deal that we will take a the end of the month?  One word comes to mind and that is goals.  Should they be different?  No.  They should be worked the same 100% of the time.  No matter how big or how small the profit is, move the metal and gain the customer no matter what part of the month it is.

In 2009 as a dealership, we missed getting the prestigeous Honda President's Award by a mere 18 units for the year.  If we would not have passed on the few deals that we did early on in the month, we probably would have gotten our award.  We as managers think to ourselves that we have a gem (whether new or used) on our lot and think, we can make more money than the customer is offering, so I will pass on this one and make it up on the next one.  We have to change that mindset and even if it is a little shorter deal than we would like, take it now, make a customer, and hope that they keep coming back for service, repeat sales, and referrals from that customer.  We can replace metal, but not a customer

My 2 cents is no matter how big or small the profit is, no matter what part of the month it is, move the unit and invest that money in something else and gain a customer now, earn their business in service and parts, and ask them for the referral.  If you don't have a referral program in place, get one and give the customer some money for sending in prospects.  The best form of advertising is word of mouth and if a customer in the beginning of the month doesn't get 'the deal' in the beginning of the month, they may tell all of their friends verbally and via social networking.

Kbb.com just released a study recently that they did on the online shoppers: New Car Intenders. There are a few things that really took me back and have to make sure that I was actually doing it right to fall in line with their results.

They found in their research that the average person will research for their next new vehicle for an average of 2.5 months. I then started thinking about some of the leads that come in that we think are "junk leads" just because they won't respond to us. This is an important number so that we don't just drop that prospect that isn't responding to us for some reason. People request for information to keep themselves anonymous. We need to keep our name in front of them in our ongoing marketing and sending them relevant information on the vehicle that they requested information on. Stay with them for 30, 60, and 90 days and beyond. How many times have you had a customer just show up out of the blue that you have emailed and called and just left messages for several months and ask for a certain salesperson?Just like your walk-in traffic, stick with them until they fly or die.

The next thing that took me back was that 70% of those shoppers see a dealerships's website as valuable. Take away on this one is to make sure that your site is customer friendly. We are car people and chances are the people that designed your website are car people. Look from the outside looking in and make sure that there is no car lingo on your website. Make sure that prospective customers can find things easy. Have your links clearly defined and any call to actions on your site to stand out.

Photos on new cars are beginning to become more valuable year after year. Prospective customers want to see the actual vehicle they are looking at on your website. They can see stock photos on any website. They want to see actual photos of the new car just like the used cars. KBB found that the shopper like to see an average of 18 photos. 76% of the shoppers were more likely to go to the dealership with actual photos of their vehicles. 61% were more apt to purchase from the dealer that had photos. 51% would email or call over a dealership that doesn't have photos of their new vehicles. The take away on this one is pretty obvious....get new car photos on your website and make sure that you push it out to your third party sites.

I had to conduct a survey with all of my Twitter followers that are in the automotive business. I was shocked at the results how many dealers were merchandising with real photos vs stock photos. I found that 63% of my automotive followers that completed the survey were using actual photos vs stock photos on new vehicle merchandising. (I was thinking it was going to be much lower or I have some top dealers following me.) What this tells me is that people in the automotive business are seeing the importance of what a consumer or future customer wants to see online. On a personal level, we have been taking photos of new vehicles for a year now. Have I seen an increase in leads? No, not really. Have I seen an increase of vehicle detail pages? Yes. Have we seen an increase in sales? Most definitely. 'Nuff said.

You can view and download the KBB report here.

Kbb.com just released a study recently that they did on the online shoppers: New Car Intenders. There are a few things that really took me back and have to make sure that I was actually doing it right to fall in line with their results.

They found in their research that the average person will research for their next new vehicle for an average of 2.5 months. I then started thinking about some of the leads that come in that we think are "junk leads" just because they won't respond to us. This is an important number so that we don't just drop that prospect that isn't responding to us for some reason. People request for information to keep themselves anonymous. We need to keep our name in front of them in our ongoing marketing and sending them relevant information on the vehicle that they requested information on. Stay with them for 30, 60, and 90 days and beyond. How many times have you had a customer just show up out of the blue that you have emailed and called and just left messages for several months and ask for a certain salesperson?Just like your walk-in traffic, stick with them until they fly or die.

The next thing that took me back was that 70% of those shoppers see a dealerships's website as valuable. Take away on this one is to make sure that your site is customer friendly. We are car people and chances are the people that designed your website are car people. Look from the outside looking in and make sure that there is no car lingo on your website. Make sure that prospective customers can find things easy. Have your links clearly defined and any call to actions on your site to stand out.

Photos on new cars are beginning to become more valuable year after year. Prospective customers want to see the actual vehicle they are looking at on your website. They can see stock photos on any website. They want to see actual photos of the new car just like the used cars. KBB found that the shopper like to see an average of 18 photos. 76% of the shoppers were more likely to go to the dealership with actual photos of their vehicles. 61% were more apt to purchase from the dealer that had photos. 51% would email or call over a dealership that doesn't have photos of their new vehicles. The take away on this one is pretty obvious....get new car photos on your website and make sure that you push it out to your third party sites.

I had to conduct a survey with all of my Twitter followers that are in the automotive business. I was shocked at the results how many dealers were merchandising with real photos vs stock photos. I found that 63% of my automotive followers that completed the survey were using actual photos vs stock photos on new vehicle merchandising. (I was thinking it was going to be much lower or I have some top dealers following me.) What this tells me is that people in the automotive business are seeing the importance of what a consumer or future customer wants to see online. On a personal level, we have been taking photos of new vehicles for a year now. Have I seen an increase in leads? No, not really. Have I seen an increase of vehicle detail pages? Yes. Have we seen an increase in sales? Most definitely. 'Nuff said.

You can view and download the KBB report here.

Phone ups are getting to be a key in the automotive business. The internet has changed our environment dramatically as customers used to visit at least 4-5 dealerships and that number has dwindled down to under 2 dealership visits before making a decision on a new vehicle. Also, call volume is trending down as dealers are being more transparent with options/equipment, carfaxes, and more photos of vehicles on the websites. We have to be sharp on the phone and also stand out.

I was walking through the showroom yesterday, and heard a salesman on the phone calling a customer that had inquired on a vehicle over the phone. He hadn't set the appointment, but he followed up with the customer the next day just to say thanks for the interest in the vehicle and he was there if they had any further questions. I have another salesman that will do a reverse look up on the phone number and not only follow up with them on the phone, but will also send them a postcard. I will guarantee there isn't any salesman in town that is doing that. This is all why he is as successful as he is in what he does.

Too many times, if a salesman doesn't set an appointment on the first incoming call, the customer goes to the side and is never followed up again. I have no idea of what that statistic is, but I am sure it is high.

To stand out, we have to ask the right questions and open that customer up to the whole inventory, not just that vehicle that they called in on. We have to listen to the customer in their needs and wants. If they call in on a 2 door smaller car and they said that they have 3 kids, that might not be the right vehicle for them if they are replacing a vehicle. We have to be there to be an advisor, not just a salesman.

Here are a few tips to make you better than the next guy the customer calls:

1. Get a name. Too many calls are going without asking for the customer's name.
2. Get their best contact info. Most dealers have caller id and use it. Mr. Customer, is this 555-555-5555 the best number to reach you at?
3. Open them up to your whole inventory. How many times have you listened to a phone call and they ask if the 1999 Honda Civic is available and you say no and they hang up right away? Are you specifically looking for that car, or something that gets great gas mileage at a great price?
4. Get their email. Make yourself stand out and do a quick 2 minute walk-around on the vehicle and send it to them. Make yourself stand out from the rest.
5. ASK FOR THE APPOINTMENT! Too many salespeople are scared to ask for it.
6. Give them your name and have them write it down. How many times did a customer that you didn't get logged in the CRM for some reason just come in and didn't ask for you and bought from your coworker?
7. Log them in the CRM! Protect yourself. Put in good notes. If you didn't make an appointment, call them back the next day and put them in your normal follow up routine.

So what are you doing to make yourself stand out?

Phone ups are getting to be a key in the automotive business. The internet has changed our environment dramatically as customers used to visit at least 4-5 dealerships and that number has dwindled down to under 2 dealership visits before making a decision on a new vehicle. Also, call volume is trending down as dealers are being more transparent with options/equipment, carfaxes, and more photos of vehicles on the websites. We have to be sharp on the phone and also stand out.

I was walking through the showroom yesterday, and heard a salesman on the phone calling a customer that had inquired on a vehicle over the phone. He hadn't set the appointment, but he followed up with the customer the next day just to say thanks for the interest in the vehicle and he was there if they had any further questions. I have another salesman that will do a reverse look up on the phone number and not only follow up with them on the phone, but will also send them a postcard. I will guarantee there isn't any salesman in town that is doing that. This is all why he is as successful as he is in what he does.

Too many times, if a salesman doesn't set an appointment on the first incoming call, the customer goes to the side and is never followed up again. I have no idea of what that statistic is, but I am sure it is high.

To stand out, we have to ask the right questions and open that customer up to the whole inventory, not just that vehicle that they called in on. We have to listen to the customer in their needs and wants. If they call in on a 2 door smaller car and they said that they have 3 kids, that might not be the right vehicle for them if they are replacing a vehicle. We have to be there to be an advisor, not just a salesman.

Here are a few tips to make you better than the next guy the customer calls:

1. Get a name. Too many calls are going without asking for the customer's name.
2. Get their best contact info. Most dealers have caller id and use it. Mr. Customer, is this 555-555-5555 the best number to reach you at?
3. Open them up to your whole inventory. How many times have you listened to a phone call and they ask if the 1999 Honda Civic is available and you say no and they hang up right away? Are you specifically looking for that car, or something that gets great gas mileage at a great price?
4. Get their email. Make yourself stand out and do a quick 2 minute walk-around on the vehicle and send it to them. Make yourself stand out from the rest.
5. ASK FOR THE APPOINTMENT! Too many salespeople are scared to ask for it.
6. Give them your name and have them write it down. How many times did a customer that you didn't get logged in the CRM for some reason just come in and didn't ask for you and bought from your coworker?
7. Log them in the CRM! Protect yourself. Put in good notes. If you didn't make an appointment, call them back the next day and put them in your normal follow up routine.

So what are you doing to make yourself stand out?