How should I approach getting a customer in the door?

[Robert (blog)]

Johnny,

If your Management Team does not embrace the internet process, and stand behind you 100%... WHY WOULD YOU STAY??? You said you work for a VOLVO store, It is a requirement of Volvo (Ford Motor Company) if a client requests a quote from Volvo's site you must give them one. What are you doing about this??? As you will find the question to Quote or Not the one that causes the most Friction between Dealers and ISMs.

 

[Lee]

"Your dealer is ignoring the reasons why the consumer is on the Internet (they are weary / leary of the traditional sales tactics) and only having his own conversation."

I think that quote sums up how things are in the majority of stores. That, and a lot of "seasoned" sales/management that have the reality of things blinded by their huge ego's.

 

[Internet Jeff]

Much like Brians dilemmas, I work GM BuyPower leads where General Motors instructs us to reply with any type of price quote within I believe it is 24 to 48 hours.

These are my issues with the leads:
1. Many arrive with generalized info: Silverado 1500 LT 4wd
2. The consumer just built and priced out the vehicle on gm.com
3. Over 50% of the leads are invalid (GM should look into some new scouring pads!)

How do you respond with accurate pricing without knowing what equip is desired on the vehicle?

I've been testing different processes for these situations. To those I responded with 'best pricing' upfront, not one sale. Most never acknowledged they even received the quote.

This is a reply received after a week of email correspondence, and having two different appt times set on an exact vehicle of interest:

'Thanks jeff for all your hard work. Decided this is not the right time to buy, when we are in the market again we will contact you first.' What? But, but, but...

A few days later, my Autotrader rep informs me of my great customer service from another dealership. Huh? Yeah, during the PURCHASE and negotiations, the customer talked me up to them about the dealership and my customer service, not price as they got much less of a deal there.

Only as a last resort, will I ever give 'best pricing' without phone contact first at minimum.

Open to fellow dealerrefresher suggestions please!

As Lao stated, “keep the lines tight” Do not be pushy; be service orientated and helpful. Never give up….follow up.

 

[Johnny Swartz]

Thanks guys. Lao Shi, You are right, good stuff.

Robert,

You are right, Volvo Requires us to answer within 2 hours with a personal response but we dont have to quote a price we just have to say if the car is available, Who we are, Confirm the car they want, our business hours and have a personal greeting. Thats it.

When People ask me for a quote I have been sending them the MSRP and telling them to call me if they have questions. Of course I have been hitting the phones twice as hard trying to get appointments because my emails are aimed now at getting them to call me and commiting them to appointments.

I must admit just like Lao Shi stated. Providing customer service, building a quick relationship, and keeping the lines tight without be pushy has worked for me. My appointments have gone up quite a bit already without using numbers and my gross is looking much better.

 

[Steve (blog)]

We have tried both approaches and have come to costly conclusion that giving a price is the better track with Internet leads. I use an 'as low as' quote with a minimum of vehicle information and an exact quote with vin#'s and stock #"s. It seems to work, over average combined gross is pennies under $2,000

 

[Mark]

I work for a DMS provider; I'm also a consumer, so I've heard car dealers from two different perspectives on this issue. I have to tell you, it's astonishing to me how scared some salespeople are to say, "This is just a rough guess, but..."

The last time I bought a vehicle, the quote I got from the guy I ended up buying from was about $1,500 lower than the final sell price. That was about $1,000 closer than his nearest competitor. It was also immeasurably closer than the non-quotes I recieved from the dealerships I never visited.

This is strictly anecdotal, I don't know how many other buyers are like myself, but I personally didn't even visit the stores that wouldn't give me a quote. Buyers are smart. We *know* there's more to the deal than just the listed price. Give a little respect, get a little respect.

 

[Gerald]

One thing that worked for me very well was to tell the customer on the phone "I am sorry, but my store prohibits me from providing pricing information over the phone or Internet." The majority of the time, customers would come in, the rest of the time, I would have my new car director turn and give a quote. This was at a Honda store in the Dallas area, so it is competitive. The other tactic is to quote a vehicle you may not have and switch to a different car, or, quote the vehicle before dealer adds.

Hope that helps.

 

[Noland Harris]

You’re talking about an industry-wide problem. I don’t propose to know the answer but I may have a partial to the issue how much information to provide shoppers. See: www.VehiclePaymentShopper.com

Look over our web site and let me know what you think.

Noland Harris
President/Publisher
Vehicle Payment $hopper LLC

 

[Johnny Swartz]

Thanks for the comments! Keep them coming please.

This past week when this "new" way for us to treat Internet Customers started I thought it may work. It seems it is not going to work. I know I just reported great appointments and higher gross but I believe it to be luck with people I would have reached on the phone anyhow. I am now stuck with a flood of emails of people wanting quotes or not even responding to me. Here is the most common response I have gotten from a customer when I resist giving him information and try to get an appointment.

"Can you provide with pricing 1st. This is the whole reason why I'm using the Internet department."

and

"Johnny,

Just give me your best quote and we can go from there.

Thanks,

Bruce"

I'm going crazy here. I don't think I can handle this much longer. Before I would look at these questions and attack with a good price. Now I just look at them like a deer in headlights. I cant move and I don't know what to do.

Thanks guys.

Frustrated ISM in San Diego,
Johnny Swartz

 

[Johnny Swartz]

The Vehicle Payment Shopper on your web site Nolan, is a creative idea. The only issue I have with it is will it be confusing for the customer and it's not personal. It is very general like an auto-responder.