Successful lead follow-up has its own rules!

Crisis

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.

Continue to sell

Most car companies know that you should keep selling even in times of crisis. You need turnover to satisfy the hunger of fixed costs. Investments in online marketing must continue to help generate consumer demand. And if an opportunity presents itself through a lead, the sales department must cherish that lead. After all, you get far fewer opportunities if the wind, like now, blows from the wrong angle. Many salespeople often state that they prefer to work with qualified leads. Nonsense, of course, every lead is qualified. Most websites need more than 100 visitors to entice someone to submit an application. The one lead that presents itself has already qualified itself.

Dealing with leads

In recent years, I have focused on dealing with these leads in a more effective manner. We developed a set of online rules that brought us great success at Nieuweautokopen.nl. After a few years, we also developed a set of rules for telephone leads. Because we saw that the telephone leads via the portals were actually leads that were initially triggered by online activity. Nieuweautokopen.nl had a process for online leads, and there was a Lead Management System, but telephone leads were still invisible. We have now drawn up rules for these telephone calls that have been stimulated by online activity.

We developed a set of online rules that brought us great success at Nieuweautokopen.nl.

Online rules

Many dealers and sellers successfully use the online rules, and they achieve a higher conversion. Following rules is fairly universal. If we want to lose weight, we know what to do: diet and exercise. If you are consistent in this, you have a high chance that you will lose weight. It is no different when following up leads. As a salesperson or as KCC employees, you must consistently follow the rules. You can see from groups in the Netherlands who have a good process for lead follow up, for example the Herwers Group, that a consistent way of following up produces positive results. Appointments and, ultimately, sales will follow if you ensure that the right dialogue occurs between the salesperson and the shopper in a timely manner.

But times have changed. The current market situation requires different rules. Emailing was previously the preferred communication tool, but it is no longer. Currently, video and Facetime also provide part of the dealer’s successful communications solution. It is illogical to have different rules for online leads than for telephone leads when the goal is the same: dialogue, appointment, and sale.

What are the new rules for following up online and telephone leads?

• Call first, then utilize other effective means of communication
• Follow up on all leads through a prescribed process
• Thank the customer and ask questions
• Provide a trackable lead
• Send for a (follow-up) appointment and confirm that appointment
• Be accessible

In the following articles, we will discuss implementation of those rules. We will explain why following those rules leads to success. These rules are not listed in order of importance; let that be clear. The next article is about “First call, then use other means of communication.”