Long Term Follow-up - Does it really matter?

[joe.pistell]

A few observations:

• Shoppers don't go car shopping to fill out a lead. One can argue, a lead submission is a not a positive shopping outcome.
• Shoppers sometimes fill out leads because they don't see something on the website (in the comments they'll write: "I like one just like this, but not in white")
• Often, shoppers have no intention to getting into a discussion (it doesn't improve their negotiating position)

Also, consider shoppers buy cars at different speeds:



Things that can make a shopper vanish:

• 40% of shoppers buy in under 14 days
• The lead source: The dealer site is often the last step in the journey

 

[eddyshaf]

"most customers didn't respond to sales people because the information sent was irrelevant."

This is the most significant takeaway for me - not for this particular discussion...would probably fit better in this one:

http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/threads/your-first-response-what-are-you-trying-to-say.4411/

Our failure as an industry to adequately address what should be such an easy problem - ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION - is (at least for me) the biggest downfall of internet departments across the country

 

[yagoparamo]

@eddyshaf

Well... I think that not answering the damn question would be the problem for any business. Somehow in the car biz we got used to think that the round around is OK.

 

[eddyshaf]

@yagoparamo - I call it the "dodge, bob and weave"

 

[joe.pistell]

Who's working the late shift?

Peak use is 5:30 to 11pm.

 

[john.quinn]

I remember being amazed by a newbie to the car industry -- he had been in sales all his life -- 30+ years -- but had never sold cars. Day 1 the manager started feeding him some inter-nutters.

His engagement rate was damn-near 100%. He won an August sales contest in month 3 (against 60+ other salespeople). His secret? He simply, naturally answered their friggin questions! No BS templates -- no "we'd like to learn more about your...." or "we're happy to set-up a test drive, would XX or YY work better for you?" Just picked-up the phone and spoke to the customers like he was speaking to his neighbor.

Being trained in APB Selling, it was a lesson I never forgot: in the new paradigm, I needed to "unlearn" what I had been taught. Today, it's not lost on me at that much of the "training" many Salespeople and ISM's receive actually teaches them how to alienate the Internet Lead/Customer.