How should I approach getting a customer in the door?

[Chris K]

Johnny,

I would step up and be THE MAN! Print out all the answer on this specific thread, make a meeting with the GM and Owner and tell them you need to find a system that's working, and that THEIR way isn't - to be perfectly frank. ASK THEM for flexibility, ASK THEM if they are truly committed to offering more one way to do business. Normally you find ONE WAY in a stockyard, just before slaughter!

Better yet, contact the last 100 people who actually bought at your dealership, and send them a small poll, telling them you are trying to make the experience the best - and ASK THEM for their answers and advice.

Compile the data and then present to the owner, with a demand for a raise, because you just did what none of their managers, or the owner did...

ASK THE CUSTOMER WHAT THEY WANTED!

 

[Shawn S]

There are alot of great responses. It seems as if you have a Old school and New School sales battle at your dealership.

Jeff Kershner seemed to come the closest to combining the best of both. The dealership I work at gives me the freedom to make the decision about whether a best price quote will move the sales process forward or hinder it. The good thing about the internet is the wealth of information available within a few clicks of a mouse. The BAD thing is with all of the information, internet customers have a tenancy of hoarding information until that wornderful day arrives when it all makes sense and they feel comfortable enough to stop buy the dealership.

My philosophy is that you have two types of "Price Quote" shoppers.

1. The ones that ask for a quote because it seems like the right thing to do. When it comes down to it they are trying to get something accomplished that they feel MIGHT not be possible. (ie secure financing, trading a vehicle with negative equity...) Relationship building is essential with these customers. They are looking for the best OPPORTUNITY not the best PRICE. Quoting these customers a price usually winds pushing them away from visiting your dealership. What happens is, YES you did what they asked BUT it didn't get them one step closer to accomplishing their overall goal. Your best bet is getting them to look at ALL of the opportunities your dealership has available. Getting them off of the internet and on the phone is your only way of aligning their needs and wants

2. The second is the customer who doesn't have a phone number in the email sent to your dealership. These customers are the ones that want to conduct all of there business on the internet. They JUST want a price quote and thats IT. They have no intention of wasting their time if you cant meet their price on the car they sent in. 8 times out of 10 these customers have ALREADY driven the car. They have already sent in quote requests to multiple dealerships. You have ONE shot at this customer. Those gross profit loss deals will most likely come from here. The GM/Owner and I have the same thinking here.....send them the best opportunity you can offer and then.....do nothing. Either they will contact you to proceed with the purchase or you will never hear from them again. You've made them happy and in the process not wasted alot of time and energy. When we don't hear from them within 1 day we send an email which asks if our quote was satisfactory. Either is WAS or it WASN'T there is no grey area for this customer.

I can see how it would be frustrating if you are stuck at the Quote stage without being able to provide one but the owner you work for may be trying to push more traffic to the showroom. The only thing I can add is that if you are sending out a lot of quotes ask yourself how may calls have I made to this customer. I have a BDC dept and a product specialist which deal with the specific and the non-specific customers on new and used vehicles. Very rarely do I have to work a quote. We appoint about 70% of our internet leads before we get to that point.

 

[Jason (blog)]

I get torn on this one.. we've tried different tactics at our dealership.. quote x% over invoice, quote invoice, quote 200 UNDER invoice, don't quote at all.

I was TOTALY against the old school 'don't quote prices'.

So far, our sales have been the highest w/o quoting (I'm talking new cars). Plus, our gross has been around 2500.

it seems that what people SAY they want, and what they actually respond to, are not the same.

I'm still trying to figure out the 'sweet spot' though.

I have often thought that some basic educating of the consumer would be worth trying:
"listen, here's the price I was able to get from the manager. But keep this in mind: the thought of losing a deal is much more realistic to him when you are sitting in front of him and he thinks you are going to walk. that's just human nature. Plus, there's a thousand diffenrent ways to configure a black jeep commander - each with a different price."
OK, it needs work

 

[Stan Sher (blog)]

I preach the idea of "you don't ask you don't get". When you get on the phone with a customer you take two to three shots at setting an appointment by overcoming their price objections. I found what worked for me is telling the customer that "I have over 300 cars on my lot and I can give them a price on a car right now and when they can come our sale might be over or that we have 12 other sales people with customers who might purchase this car before they show up...if something changes and the numbers are different I do not want to look like a dishonest person. I prefer to meet with you in person to not only give you the best buying experience but to give you everything that you are looking for. After all would you prefer knowing that you met me and you knew that I was honest or would you like me to be a typical dealer that lies to you on the phone?" Now I wrote too much and I clearly do not talk so much when I am on the phone with a customer but these are my ways to handle objections. They will not always work and that is when you know you have a genuine mouche. At this point you break their legs, give away the car and move on. Get the appointment and sell it. However, the times these objections work you are able to get them in and spot them with more gross. You have to be able to read your customers mind by how they talk, where they are from and what their goal and objections are. It is not a very easy thing to do. As I plan to start doing consulting work I will teach these methods to dealers.

 

[Rob Fontano (blog)]

I don't believe there is a "No Quote" option. That being said the answer to your question is to become a student and master of the phones. The internet lead is simply an opportunity to begin a dialog with the customer.

I would recommend training programs like Alan Ram or Dealer Synergy. I made mastering phone skills a priority very early on in my career as a floor sales person. Little did I know that it would be instrumental in taking on and being successful in Internet Sales.
You must have a game plan and process in place and make sure that everyone is following it. The bottom line is strong phone skills can overcome the price quote without ever giving the customer the impression that you don't want to quote them. There will always be a situation where you must quote a price, but again if you are truly a "Phone Ninja" You will be able to overcome any obstacle.

I would recommend training programs like Alan Ram or Dealer Synergy. I made mastering phone skills a priority very early on in my career as a floor sales person. Little did I know that it would be instrumental in taking on and being successful in Internet Sales.
You must have a game plan and process in place and make sure that everyone is following it. The bottom line is strong phone skills can overcome the price quote without ever giving the customer the impression that you don't want to quote them.

There will always be a situation where you must quote a price, but again if you are truly a "Phone Ninja" You will be able to overcome any obstacle. This may seem over simplified but basically the ability to manage a strong internet team comes down to training, training, training. I hope this does not offend anyone but every sales person thinks that they are good on the phones. I have listened to sales calls for many years and let me tell you that is the furthest from the truth. Make the committment to a strong process and you will be more effective at setting appointments and steering clear of price and trade values.