Three Ways To Keep The Momentum Up During The Last Selling Week

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The last week of October is here!

And guess what?

There’s one more weekend to spare in the next five days.

It’s time to crush your final selling days of October 2020!

Here are three ways to get you started:

Stay Motivated

Your sales staff is overworked.

They need you for support and motivation!

What’s the overall sales objective?

What can we ALL do to get there as a TEAM?

Help your sales staff set personal selling goals and show interest in their progress in this final week.

This will help your sales staff feel heard, motivated & appreciated!

Sit Down With Marketing

It’s the final week and you should know how your budget was utilized for the past 20+ days.

If there is still room left in the budget, make sure you use it!

Put a social media or email campaign together with your marketing manager.

Get the promotion out NOW!

Review Your Follow-Up

Feel as if you lost a couple deals over the weekend?

Review how quickly leads are being responded to (it should be five minutes or less)!

Is your sales staff qualifying hot leads or butting heads with bad leads?

The goal is simple: Move Inventory!

Do not leave the hot-to-buy customers waiting.

The priority is to answer leads within five minutes, confirm appointments and get customers in the door!

 

Overnight Dealer responds and qualifies your overnight leads within five minutes.

There’s no better way to start the morning than with a list of hot leads to motivate your sales staff!

Curious about the percentage of leads you may be leaving on the table each month?

Set up a demo today!

Responding To Automotive Leads During Covid-19

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It should come as no surprise the impact Covid-19 had on a number of industries.

Dealerships were closing temporarily or staying open with limited hours and staff.

Even during these trying time, there was still a silver lining.

Driven Data recently shared a report on lead response versus closing rate during the beginning of the pandemic.

During March and August, there was a 65% increase in lead closing rates!

But here’s the catch … despite the increase in closings, there was a slight drop in lead response time.

Driven Data reviewed roughly 212K leads* and 29K sales between January and August of this year.

They categorized ‘fast’ lead response time as under one hour.

(But as you know, answering leads within 5 minutes or less is more ideal)!

Every 100 leads, 70% were responded to in under an hour.

From that 70%, 14% were closed deals.

On the contrary, the remaining 30% of leads were not contacted until hours later.

Out of the 30%, 17% resulted in closed deals.

When comparing March through August to the previous six months, there was a 65% increase in closing rates even though the response time increased by roughly 13%.

Does this mean you should wait to respond to leads?

Absolutely not!

Internet leads are closing at a similar rate as incoming phone leads; therefore, internet leads must be treated as equally important and urgent.

When customers are hot to buy, they will submit leads no matter the current situation (even during a Global Pandemic)!

Do not leave your customers waiting anymore than five minutes.

If you struggle to answer leads under an hour, consider using Overnight Dealer.

We qualify and answer all leads within five minutes or less!

Set up a demo today!

 

*Internet Leads ONLY

Cut Ties With Your Auto Response

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Auto responses are outdated, stale and can turn off a potential buyer.

It’s time to stop communicating like it’s 1980.

Your customers have done their research; there is so much information available at their fingertips (literally).

Stop sending back multiple pictures, vehicle specs or more than one follow up question.

The goal is to get the customer in the dealership!

Stop the email chain and bring them to your sales lot pronto!

Here’s a suggestion: Overnight Dealer’s 3-Point Response™

The 3-Point Response™ is a proven method to get customers to respond.

It’s personalized, it’s coming from a real email address and it asks a single point.

Why a single point?

Customers have done their research!!

Don’t leave your customers waiting by over communicating!

Keep your follow up short & sweet and close the deal today!

Not Your Average Monday Holiday: Handling Overnight Leads During Covid-19

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Columbus Day is here again but so far, it has not been an average October.

Thanks to Covid-19, a Monday holiday (that students usually take off from school), feels like a typical Monday.

Global pandemic or not, your goal as a manager is to motivate your staff to hit your sales objective!

Your sales performance has very little to do with foot traffic and more to do with how well your staff follows up with leads.

We’re not just talking about leads you receive during business hours… there’s a whole 35% of leads that come in when you’re closed.

Most dealerships are closed on holidays (i.e. Christmas, Thanksgiving, July 4th, ect.) and yet, your customers are still searching your inventory.

It’s never easy coming back to work after a holiday.

Honestly, it can be a bit overwhelming!

Whether you are open or not on Columbus Day, your CRM is still flooded with leads from the night before.

Here’s a solution… Overnight Dealer will respond and qualify all overnight leads.

This includes leads that come in when you’re closed (especially holidays).

You have enough to worry about when it comes to the safety and health of your staff and customers.

Consider hiring an overnight BDC service during these trying times!

Do Not Ignore Your New Car Leads

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There seems to be a light at the end of the Covid-19 Tunnel!

After a steady decline of car sales, automakers have reported ending Q3 on a high note.

Automakers such as Toyota noted a 16.2% increase in sales in September.

Although there is a concern about 2021 model manufacturing, the demand for new cars is on the rise.

According to Cox Automotive’s senior economist, Charlie Chesbrough, “new vehicles buyers have not been hit as hard as other consumers during this recession.”

Do not ignore this news – new vehicle sales trends are up!

Make sure your sale follow-up process is consistent and fast.

Do not leave consumers waiting for more than five minutes after they submit an inquiry (you do that and you’re leaving money on the table for your competitor)!

Concerned about missing leads when you’re closed?

Now is the time to consider hiring an overnight BDC service.

Overnight Dealer answers and qualifies all overnight leads in five minutes or less!

Never miss another opportunity (on or off the clock) with Overnight Dealer!

Two Ways To Boost Sales TODAY

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A new month is here and yet, the same goal remains: hitting your sales objective!

Whether you are having a busy month or not, your lead follow-up technique is the most important part of the sales process.

Here are 2 ways to boost your sales today!

5 Minutes (And That’s All)!

If you are not answering your leads in five minutes or less, you’re leaving money on the table (for your competitor)!

When a customer is Hot-To-Buy, they should not be left waiting for your response.

Answering leads in five minutes or less should be a requirement on your sales floor!

Auto Responders Ruin Sales

Customers want to have a personalized experience via email, over the phone or in person.

It may be 2020 but, no one wants to talk to a robot!

Auto Responders are outdated, ingenuine and customers notice them everytime!

They are not personable and they can stall the sales process.

If your sales staff is able to answer a lead within five minutes, there is no need for automated response!

As for your leads that come in after hours, consider hiring an overnight BDC service!

Overnight Dealer responds & qualifies all of your overnight leads in 5 minutes or less!

Start protecting your margin & demo Overnight Dealer today!

Why You Need Amazon Speed When It Comes To Responding To Leads

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Amidst the pandemic of Covid-19, it feels as if everything is at a standstill.

Industries have had to suddenly adapt to promoting to consumers who would rather stay at home.

It’s been surveyed that 65% of shoppers want to do more of the purchase process online versus in-person.

At this rate, your shoppers are not going to move backwards and neither should you!

This not only affects car sales but, vehicle servicing and maintenance as well.

48% of vehicle owners are willing to pay extra for service pick up & delivery.

The days of having customers walk through your show floor while waiting for their vehicle to get serviced are far behind us.

Just because the automotive industry is changing does not mean your priority on the sales floor should change!

More than ever should you be attentive and responsive to your incoming leads!

A customer may want to do their entire purchase via your website or over the phone but you still need to be there to follow up with those inquiries.

You need to be answering your leads within five minutes and if you aren’t, you’re leaving money on the table for your competitor (who has a free service pick up/delivery by the way…)!

With more shoppers preferring the online buying experience, this could mean an increase in overnight leads.

Right now 35% of your leads come in when you are not at the dealership!

Your consumers’ preferences are changing and you need to deliver your best effort.

If you’re considering, this is the perfect time to hire an overnight BDC service.

Overnight Dealer qualifies and responds to all overnight leads in five minutes or less.

Ask about a demo today!

 

Close More With Fewer Words – Tips On Texting Customers

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When a lead comes in, the goal is to answer the inquiry in five minutes or less!

The longer you wait the sooner you’ll miss a sales opportunity.

Thanks to the current COVID-19 Pandemic, dealerships are relying on text messaging as a way to contact their potential consumers.

And we understand why… 95% of text messages are read within 3 minutes!

That looks pretty great compared to the average 20% email open rate.

Although texting is more convenient, dealerships should review their texting protocol.

According to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), consumers must have an option to opt-in or opt-out of text conversations with businesses.

Texting has now become a crucial consumer channel for lead development … but it must be compliant!

Ready-To-Buy customers don’t care for the details behind channels, they just want an answer.

With that being said, make sure (like with your email templates) you are NOT spamming customers who opted-in for texting.

Messages that are emailed and texted to customers should be short, simple and to the point!

You want to bring this consumer closer to a sales transaction, not closer to your competitor.

Touchpoints – The Space Between You And Your Next Sale

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Congratulations – you closed another deal this month!

We are at the final stretch of this month, with only seven days to go until October.

What can we do for the next week to keep the momentum up?

Well, have you considered looking into how and why this customer chose you over your competitor?

Maybe it was the pricing or the convenience… but what if I told you your customers did hours of research before they filled out an inquiry?

What if I told you your customer made 30 touchpoints between the time she/he filled out the form and when she/he bought the car?

A touchpoint is any type of interaction a consumer makes during their buying journey.

When a customer Googles for you and clicks on your site – that’s a touchpoint.

When they get retargeted on Facebook and click on the ad – that’s a touchpoint.

All these clicks may lead to your inventory but it doesn’t mean the person is ready to buy!

The number of touchpoints depends on multiple factors:

  1. Price Points (If something is $500 or less, it’s easier to make a buying decision)
  2. Competition (Your consumer has not picked you yet; they have the right to shop other options)
  3. Urgency (Did they just total their previous vehicle? Are maintenance costs more expensive than if they bought something new today?)
  4. Frequency of Opportunity (If you’re not updating your pricing this gives the customer a reason to wait it out… I mean, it’ll still cost the same next week right?)

Congratulations – your inventory is priced great!

Now… let’s take a look at your follow-up technique.

According to HubSpot, 57% of a buyer’s journey is over before they interact with a sales person.

If your sales staff is not answering leads within 5 minutes, you are losing deals!

As for afterhours, consider hiring an overnight BDC service!

Overnight Dealer qualifies and responds to all of your overnight leads within 5 minutes or less!

A customer’s journey may be longer than expected and filled with an abundance of touchpoints along way… but like any journey, no one should go at it alone!

 

The Number One Question To Get Someone In Your Dealership

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Whenever a hot lead comes in, we get so excited that we forget how much time this customer has spent researching our inventory.

We so badly want to get them into the dealership and yet, we end up bombarding them with way too many follow-up questions (yes, there is such a thing)!

Customers spend hours researching before making a car purchase … the information you are sending them, they already know!

The main goal is to sell cars.

Our number one priority should be to get this customer in the dealership or on the phone.

We want to make a great first impression; sending too many questions can be a huge turn off even for a hot-to-buy customer.

Consider making your one follow-up question geared towards getting this customer on the phone or in for a test drive appointment!

Instead of overwhelming your customer with questions via email, ask them when they can come to you!

You will keep the customer’s attention if you are prompt & direct with your responses.

As for your overnight leads, consider Overnight Dealer!

Overnight Dealer responds & qualifies all overnight inquiries within five minutes based on your Call To Action (appointment/test drive).

You’ll have a number of opportunities to ask them questions (face-to-face), so give them a reason to come meet you and see the vehicle of course!

Your hot-to-buy customer has shown an interest in you so show an interest in them by asking them to come in!