Tips for Stronger Monthly Sales Close

Well it's mid month and I know that there are many automotive sales managers trying to figure out the best way to close out June 2018. As we always say here at Alan Ram Proactive Training Solutions; "the prospects that are most likely to buy a car from you today are the customers that left your showroom yesterday without a sale." Following up on unsold traffic is critical! We all know the statistics, the average automotive consumer shops less than 2 stores before making a purchase.

Statistics haven't changed much over the past several years, the average close rate for showroom traffic is still around 20%. That means that 80% of that traffic leaves unsold and 27% of the unsold traffic said that they left because they weren't satisfied with their sales person or sales manager. The average new car salesperson stops following up with their unsold customers before day three after the instore visit. Data also shows that the average customer does four months of research and fourteen hours of it online. 60%-70% of those consumers will take more than 10 days to buy once their shopping begins.

Okay, I will back down from throwing a bunch of data your way but the bottom line is, we need to be diligent about our follow up with unsold customers. So I would like to offer a plan for closing out June 2018 a little bit stronger. Let's make a plan to go after all of our unsold traffic by reaching out properly by the phone. Keep in mind, there is a lot of competition out there for your customers and there is a ton of information available online for them to grab.

This plan will only take a few steps but if implemented correctly will help bring customers back into the showroom and close more deals...guaranteed!!!

#1- Verify your Appointment Set board. How many of those were unsold traffic? Let's spot check and verify that all of our sales team is properly setting future appointments. This is a management activity.

#2- Begin the unsold follow-up immediately! Customers may take up to six months to complete their transaction. Make sure that you have their cell phone number, work number and email address. If you have the technology, video messaging for email is a great opportunity to increase engagement. If you have to leave a message keep it simple and specific. Usually the best time to call customers back is between normal business hours. This can be verified with your receptionist in validating the peak sales call hours of your dealership.

#3- What was their current objection for not buying initially? If their primary objection is price/payment/trade you have able to explain properly what are the main factors that impacts price etc. If the primary objection is competitive vehicle, nothing is better than knowing your product and the advantages your car has over the competition.

#4- Managers should be monitoring calls both inbound and outbound. We need to inspect what we expect.

#5- Yes, now I think we need to ask for referrals. To me it doesn't matter if we sold them or not. This is one of the least executed strategies practiced in automotive sales.

#6- 70% of Facebook users log on daily, the highest for all social platforms. 65% of consumers spend time on social media to learn about brands, products and services at least once per month. 15% of social media conversations turn into test drives. Your salespeople are on social so offer them good messaging techniques rather than them creating commercials or billboard advertising. The poorest performing posts are, "buy from me", "check out this car that just came in" (unless it's a true classic), picture of customer & their new car. Highest performing engagement is around posts like; vehicle "how to's", tutorials and videos on the facility etc. 2 to 3 post per week is a good rule of thumb, but again the content is the most important. Pictures and videos are the most compelling.

#7- Alan Ram loved to say, "Persistence wears down resistance". Be willing to follow up long term. If you notice that some of your sales people are having problems with outbound unsold traffic, spend the time training and role playing with them. Training isn't something you did it's something you do.

Have a great sales close to June!!!