How to Maintain Gross with Internet Customers - Volume 5 Issue 7 July 2005

Creating a Value Package Proposition

With the vast majority of car buyers going online before they ever step foot into a dealership, almost every customer is an "Internet customer" to some degree. So, if your dealership can make gross with a traditional floor prospect, then you've got to be able to maintain gross with an "Internet customer" because they now represent the majority of your customers.

The question then becomes, "How can you maximize gross potential with your Internet customers?" The best way to make gross is to have the prospect in front of you at your dealership. Once in your dealership, they can meet you, see your dealership and service department, get a sense for how you conduct business, have a full product presentation, take a test drive, and see what it feels like to sit behind the wheel of the next vehicle they're going to purchase. Whatever type of prospect you have, being at your dealership will allow them to truly experience the full depth of what you have to offer.

The secret to maximizing gross with Internet customers is to get them "off line" and into your showroom to experience the value of your dealership. The next logical question becomes - "How do you convert an Internet lead that arrives in a simple text email to a real live person standing on your showroom floor?"

Let me share with you the story of how four dealers I've worked with have answered this question; the strategy they adopted; and the level of success each achieved as a result. With the following strategy, these dealers achieved this level of success:

• LaFlam Chrysler of New Jersey: $3,325 per copy
• O'Neil Buick GMC of Pennsylvania: $2,425 per copy
• Nelson Mazda of Oklahoma: $2,650 per copy
• Advantage BMW of Clear Lake, Texas: $5,600 per copy

First Goal: Get Your Prospect on the Phone

The strategy these dealerships adopted begins with understanding the importance of accomplishing their first goal: getting the prospect on the phone. It is almost impossible to build value in an email alone. As a matter of fact, only 7% of communication is conveyed through text. Whether your prospect is planning on purchasing a $20,000 vehicle or an $80,000 vehicle, it's very difficult to build enough value for the vehicle and your dealership over an email. There needs to be a strategy of how to use your emails. You want to have an "escalation protocol" in place - meaning, you want your emails to go somewhere. to the phone call!

Emails with Call-to-Action for the Phone Call

To accomplish this, you must make sure all of your email templates, as well as personal emails, have a call-to-action to the phone. For example, if the prospect is asking you for some information, send them an email stating that you have that information available, and to please call you toll free at (800) 555-1212 to get this information. Or you can send an email to the prospect informing them that you have the information and that you will try to reach them over the phone shortly to discuss everything in detail.

Simply replying to the prospect via email with a price quote is going to maximize the one thing most dealers want to avoid: the prospect just using your email to shop your price quote. In fact, published industry studies show that 96% of people who are quoted prices via email or phone will shop them. It's no surprise, but it does remind you that once your email has evolved to a phone call with your prospect, you need to be on your "A" game.

Key Elements of a Successful Phone Call

38% of communication is effectively conveyed through auditory stimulation, inflection.sound. Remember that ONLY 50% of the information that you give is retained once you hang up that phone and only 25% of that 50% remains after 48 hours. This means that the information that you give needs to be specific and with a strategy in mind. Your phone process needs to lead the prospect into the dealership for an appointment. Here are some steps to a successful phone process:

• Greeting
• Pacing conversation
• Qualifying
• Meeting expectations
• Value Package Proposition
• Trial close
• Close

To begin, you want to properly greet your prospect on the phone. First impressions are impossible to change. You need to pace the conversation. Instead of going immediately into trying to secure an appointment or offering up your best price quote, you want to pace the conversation by going over the purchase request with the prospect. This gives the prospect the opportunity to get used to the sound of your voice and demonstrate that you are not a stereotypical "pushy car salesman."

The recommended phone engagement process is extremely similar to the process you most likely use on your showroom floor. Would you ever allow your sales reps to follow a process that includes immediately opening car doors for every fresh up that rolls into your lot? Sun Tzu says that the key to winning is knowing when to fight. In business, the key to being successful knows when to engage.

Qualifying is probably the most important aspect of the phone process. You need to uncover what exactly is your prospect's motivation for going online to find a car in the first place. Is it price, availability, convenience, or that they just don't like car dealers and are looking for a different way to buy a car? Whatever it is, you must uncover it and then handle the prospect accordingly. Don't assume the only thing ALL Internet customers are looking for is the dealership offering the best price. According to a recent industry study, only 12-20% of Internet customers are solely price motivated. That means 80-88% of prospects are looking for other factors beside price, and, thus, represent customers with whom you can hold gross.

The Value Package Proposition: Sell Them on Doing Business with You

A key part of the strategy that worked for the aforementioned dealerships was selling their prospects on the value of doing business with their dealership. The most effective way to do this is to create a "Value Package Proposition" (VPP). This is the "secret sauce" that separates their dealership from any other dealership the prospect might consider doing business with. One of my favorite VPPs is a rewards program similar to the frequent flyer miles programs offered by most major airlines. This does not mean pointless give-aways that your dealership loses gross on; rather, your customers can earn points or other rewards to go towards future purchases for anything they do at your dealership

The bottom line is that you need to understand your dealership's full Value Package Proposition, and to be able to convey that to your Internet prospect via email and on the phone. If you can succeed at this, then you should have no problem getting your prospects into your showroom, where you have the most potential to maintain gross. Studies show that customers are willing to pay for value, so it becomes your job to demonstrate that value.