Industry experts are predicting a softer year for auto sales in 2017 after this year’s peak, but car dealers know that a softer year only means they have to lean in to keep sales up at their business. A successful salesperson doesn’t just grind the phone making cold calls, they make smart follow ups that are more likely to turn into test drive appointments and sales.
There are 3 tricks to making more successful follow ups that are more likely to result in test drive appointments and sales, and they’re essential techniques for any salesperson as foot traffic to the dealer continues to decline.
- Follow up with answers – Providing relevant content means going beyond a simple answer; send value-added white papers or online articles about the purchase they want to make.
- Follow up fast – Once you have a lead from online, you have 1 hour to follow up by phone or email, or else you’ve likely lost them to a competitor who responded sooner.
- Follow up often –It’s likely a lead making queries at the dealer is not quite ready to make a purchase, especially with something as important as a vehicle, and they’re still doing research. Keep the lines of communication open by periodically sending more relevant content and letting them know that you’re invested in their purchase.
The dealership as a whole needs a great system for generating new leads for their salespeople to follow up using these proven tactics, and that’s where managed chat software becomes indispensable. The more information you have about a lead before you pick up the phone or send an email, the more you can tailor your message to their qualifications. You no longer have to struggle to get information about their decision-making process, wants, and needs, if you use 24/7 managed chat software powered by a behavioral intelligence system.
Live chat is an effective way to funnel visitors to your website into leads by engaging with them live customer support, as it’s become more important than ever to talk to potential customers online, whether they’re using social media, a desktop, or a smartphone, with the majority of car buyers spending hours online doing research. It also gives your salespeople more information to provide relevant content quickly and follow up over time to keep the prospect engaged.
One chat software company, Gubagoo, uses a behavioral intelligence to learn about visitors to your website, identifying IP addresses that return frequently and revealing to liaisons which inventory and promotion pages they’ve browsed. This allows liaisons to provide better content when they proactively engage with a visitor or when the visitor opens a conversation through the chat window, such as photos of cars the visitor has viewed. Using plenty of images is known to be a more persuasive method of informing purchase decisions and, with your business’s inventory of vehicles integrated into the chat system, customers get the information they want about your dealership. The same behavioral intelligence system also informs Gubagoo’s promotions publisher, running through a list of all of your current promotions to find one that best matches the visitor’s behavior. It’s a smart and effective way to turn your website from a passive advertisement into a marketing tool that actively targets its audience. It’s a must-have feature when you’re shopping for a live chat system and it will radically improve the number of online leads you start to bring in.