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To properly manage salespeople, you have to work with them. Not only in a weekly meeting, but daily. You are their manager, coach, and their trainer. In my work as an external trainer/coach at dealerships in the Netherlands, and also in other countries, I am expected to convince the salespeople that they can perform better. Even after a few sessions with sales managers. I can still see that the attention is slackening, things are getting stale with the sales team and the issues of the day reign. Cause? The manager’s disinterest in working with salespeople on a daily basis.

When you receive a lead on a new or used car, you can call or email the customer. Historically, the first rule when responding to an online lead is: “call first, then email” However, if you can’t get in touch with the customer by phone, what should your email say?

Sales managers find themselves overly busy with a wide variety of tasks. Unfortunately, the task of ‘managing their salespeople successfully’ does not often make it to the top of the manager’s to-do list. 

The team at our company speaks to salespeople and their sales managers on a daily basis. This is fun, yet sometimes frustrating. Frustrating because we see that the follow-up of leads and proposals has to be stimulated and managed by the sales manager. And it is obvious that this is not happening, or alternatively, it is not happening enough.

Does a separate online lead sales team seem to be a disadvantage? Many dealerships are thinking about designating one, or even several people, to follow up on warm online leads. That’s something I personally wouldn’t recommend. Having the salesperson interact with the warm lead is your best chance at selling a car. If a potential customer raises his or her hand online and sends out buying signals, you should opt to put this warm lead in contact with the sales specialist as soon as possible.

Passive leads are customers who have not yet entered the purchase process or are in the early stages. This category includes, for example, customers whose lease contract expires in six months, customers who are contacted 12, 24, or 36 months after purchase for satisfaction follow up, and, any customer whose historical data indicates they are in a time frame to consider a vehicle purchase to replace their current vehicle. Because the initiative for the contact does not lie with the customer and the customer does not expect a call, the likelihood for a sales discussion is very slim. These kinds of leads do not belong to a salesperson. Not today, not tomorrow, never!

Is it a disadvantage to have a separate sales team for online leads? Many dealerships are thinking about designating one person, or even several people, to follow up on warm online leads. That’s something I personally wouldn’t recommend. The salesperson is your best chance at selling a car. If a potential customer raises their hand online and sends out buying signals, it’s important to put this warm lead in contact with a sales specialist as soon as possible.

In today’s pandemic and the by-product of low inventory, we all know one thing for sure: the showroom that never closes is the online showroom. Car companies invest a lot of energy, creativity, and money into their highly visible digital showroom. It is considered the center of the company; a place where new shoppers and existing customers can find the information they are looking for. They could be searching for hours for directions to the dealership, a list of your service offerings and scheduling opportunities, or details about the vehicle inventory selection and pricing. Your dealership’s website is often the only place where information is available about the parts and aftersales you offer.

There are two questions I often get from sellers: 1. How do I determine the quality of an online lead? and 2. How do I determine which leads I should or should not follow up? Let me start by recognizing that there is indeed a difference in the quality of online leads. Countless factors will influence the quality of a lead. For example, how far down the funnel is the potential customer? One customer wants to buy within seven days, the other only after 70 days. One lead buys a car, and the other doesn’t. 

Lead follow-up is a matter of looking for a dialogue, then the appointment and only then the sale. When you get leads, whether they are telephone or online leads, many potential customers are curious about 1 thing, the so-called trade-in price for the trade-in car.

In this current crisis, we all know one thing for sure: the only showroom that cannot be closed is the online showroom. Car companies invest a lot of energy, creativity, and money into their digital showroom. It is now regarded as the heartbeat of the company because everything about the company can easily be found online and in one place, even more conveniently than visiting the physical storefront. Customers can not only research and shop for vehicles but schedule their service, view available parts, and look at any other items the dealer may want to market.
It is easy to demonstrate a car through Facetime, view the trade-in car closely, and even make a proposal. A test drive at home is also possible, but that is something that dealers could always make happen if they chose to.