The disadvantage of a seperate online lead sales team!

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.

The car salesman is your best chance to sell a car!

Separate the Online Lead Sales Team: Splitting warm and cold leads

Many customers prefer to make an appointment online with the same person who answers questions about the car when they visit the dealership. At CARMEN Automotive BDC, we see that splitting the appointment setting and the sales process can possibly work well if you set it up in the right way – with a clear distinction between the follow-up of cold and warm leads. We also see that the very best salespeople close the most transactions if they have personally made the appointment from a warm online lead.

Enticing the Customer

How does this effectively happen? A good salesperson knows their job is to provide relevant information to a potential buyer. An excellent salesperson also knows how use that information to entice the customer to come to the showroom for a test drive. A BDC rep does this, too, but the salesperson has more information about the car than any call agent, and thus the biggest advantage.

Making a Personal Connection

The main advantage of calling the customer is the personal connection you can make on the call. A nice conversation with the customer is a valuable first step towards a valuable connection. You know from the first contact what the customer wants and expects, and also what you can expect when the customer comes to the dealership. As a salesperson, during the conversation, you can determine where the customer is in their purchase journey. If that customer is in the market but is still in the orientation phase, you, as a seller, have to convince the customer that your Toyota (for example) is better than the Kia that the customer may also be considering.

Be Thoroughly Prepared

As a seller, you also recognize that your potential customer’s partner may come to the showroom and that he or she has a preference for a competitive vehicle (the Kia), while your customer has a preference for the Toyota. This knowledge, and appropriate preparation, can help you enter the conversation in the showroom thoroughly prepared. If a warm lead comes in through another channel, this first connection made over the phone is missing, and the advantage gained by having a personal discussion is lost.

Avoid the Annoying Surprise

Without this knowledge, you as a seller may be less prepared for the conversation. You may think that the customer has already made their choice for the Toyota. Then it is an unpleasant surprise when you discover in the showroom that the customer is also actively considering a Kia, their spouse’s preference. In addition, you have to build a relationship with the customer from scratch on the showroom floor while trying to answer questions and do any research needed.

Handle the Follow-up Yourself

For the highest possible conversion from warm online leads to sales, it is desirable for the salesperson to handle their own lead follow-up. As a seller, you have built a relationship over the telephone, answering the customer’s questions, and selling the appointment in your showroom. You successfully obtained the appointment by mentioning the advantages the customer receives by coming to you at the dealership. That’s how you make a difference. As a salesperson, if you pick up the warm leads and handle them in the right way, you will see that your sales performance will noticeably improve.