Prospect and Sale Vanishing Acts

I believe that when prospects vanish, they haven't made enough commitment yet, therefore they should still be in your automated lead nurturing system. If they quit, well, tough tities. We shouldn't even notice that they've vanished.

I think the problem starts when salespeople start investing personal time too soon. I believe first prospects should demonstrate commitment to deserve out in-person time to discuss possibilities.

Thoughts?

Yesterday, a woman came in, and looked at a Mustang. We got her to about 354 a month with zero down, including a 7 year 100k mile warranty. She left "to each lunch and think about it". She called back, apparently insurance was too high (she was wanting to put her 14 year old son on the insurance). I called today to thank her for coming in and looking at our inventory, and to offer to help her out with whatever she needed in her search for a new vehicle...she bought a Dodge Charger last night, and decided to keep her son off the insurance. I keep hearing the adage "Buyers are liars" reverberating in my head, and decided to go 'old school' - you come on my lot, and you're going to buy something.

About an hour later, around lunchtime, an elderly couple came up on the lot. I walked 'em around my lot, and took them to another lot - all in all, they spent 4 hours in the heat looking at vehicles (being I was especially irritated at the earlier call, and this couple's extreme choosiness -> chevy silverado, 2 wheel drive, low miles, never been smoked in, under 20,000 dollars).

They tried the whole "We'll need to discuss it", which got the response "What's there to discuss? You're not going to get a better deal anywhere else, sign here." Which brought up "We want our son in law to look at it, we'll be back tomorrow night" - a ha, learned my lesson last time... "Here, you take my truck, and I'll keep your truck". They're in the truck as I type this, albeit they're about 200 miles away, I did guarantee that they WILL be back tomorrow, and, having had a decent night's rest, I'll be ready to walk them around the lot for another four hours tomorrow if that's what it takes to get them to buy.

Wear 'em out and wear 'em down, sooner or later, they'll be too damned tired to turn you down. Not exactly the way I WANT to do business, but I guess the only way to make sales is to fight fire with fire.

Bardicer,

If this approach works for you, then keep on keeping on.

When I was hired by BMW a few years ago, we eliminated random drop-ins on salespeople.

Potential buyers had to fax in a document to prove that they have the financial means to buy a vehicle, and only after that they were allowed to book an appointment about a month ahead.

Interestingly the quality of clients went up quite a bit. And financially it was more profitable for letting the salespeople pay cards than wasting their time on tyre-kickers.

In their spare times, salespeople wrote cards to current clients, made lots of "How is your new car doing" type phone calls or provided ongoing assistance with whatever clients needed help with. This alone increased referrals clients.

Yes, we sold fewer cars, but these cars were sold at full sticker price. There were no deals.

But This may not be possible to pull off in Ford or GM dealerships. It's hard to qualify people this hard to buy scrap metal.

But this is just a different approach.

When I was hired by BMW a few years ago, we eliminated random drop-ins on salespeople.

BD,

What did you do when people 'dropped in'? Did you give them a sheet telling them your procedures--how to book an appoitnment, etc?

With a high end vehicle, you can create exclusivity. I spend a lot of time on this subject in my Selling to Millionaires program.

I'm not sure if it would work with Ford, though.

Bardicer,

In upfront qualifying, did you ask who else would be driving the vehicle? That may have pointed you to a different car choice for her.

Susn

If only that worked for us. The location is a big issue I believe. The second big issue is that the only advertising we do is in the newspaper..for Saturday...

Most of the people I get have credit scores of under 550 - and I recently found out that anything under 700 is considered 'bad'. :/

Quote:

Originally Posted by susana

What did you do when people 'dropped in'? Did you give them a sheet telling them your procedures--how to book an appoitnment, etc?

They could come in an see the receptionist for assistance or for an information package. That package explained them in great detail how the dealership operated. It was basically a semi-automated touch point. it worked.

It explained how they can qualify for the appointment - prove the ability to buy

Post-purchase - Mechanical orientation on the new car. One of the mechanics walked the client through the car and and introduced it to the new owner mechanically speaking. Explained tyre pressure, etc.

What we realised was that what counts is not what we sell but how we sell it. Saturn is another example of the "How you sell is more important than what you sell" mantra.

I think one problem is that sales folks in general are keen on getting involved as soon as possible. They want to do everything manually.

My idea for sales folks towards prospects is that "You step, I step." You show commitment, I invest my time in you.

In a way a sort of High Probability Selling.

My idea for sales folks towards prospects is that "You step, I step." You show commitment, I invest my time in you.

In a way a sort of High Probability Selling.

I would agree. Too many sales people are so eager that they don't properly qualify. Setting the buying criteria up front is essential, and can alleviate some of these problems that occur down the road.

Susan

Prospect and Sale Vanishing Acts

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