It doesn’t matter what type of industry you work in—executing the perfect follow-up strategy is one of the single most crucial steps to closing a deal. It can also be the single most frustrating part. Most BDC Managers have a follow-up process they have their team adhere to; however, if a salesperson reaches out three or four times and never receives a response, it is highly likely that once-golden leads will get tossed to the side.
What is the reason a consumer goes radio silent after willingly giving up their information online? It could be that they decided to buy a car elsewhere, or it could be the lack of personalization in the follow up. Maybe the follow up didn’t provide the consumer with a strong enough sense of urgency to respond. Whatever the case, you want to make sure your follow up is catered to each potential customer’s specific demographic and needs.
What Information Do You Need When Following Up?
The key to a successful follow up is having a solid strategy. You need to know enough about the person you’re following up with to be relatable, and you want to make sure you have a distinct incentive to offer them. But how do you relate to a consumer and find common interests through just a name and phone number?
Dealer Inspire’s dashboard now houses a “Customers” tab with data on each visitor’s history of visited pages, number of return visits, demographic info and more:
Data is only useful if it is actionable, so you want to make sure your sales team is using each consumer’s information in a strategic manner! The “last visit” portion of the Inspire dashboard allows your team to see which pages of the website a consumer recently visited. In the example above, Dataium is also telling you that this person is ready to purchase immediately and is considering a Cruze or Equinox.
Use Customer Information to Create a Unique Relationship
This is where the art of the sales follow up comes into play. Be excited, outgoing, memorable, and, most importantly, confident when following up with this consumer. Let them know that you have the best prices on both Cruze and Equinox models, and add in the dealership’s USP. Scope out their social media profile(s) and pick out a few of their interests that will allow you to establish common ground on the call.
At the end of the day, consumers look at many different variables when considering where to buy their car, but the most important variable will always remain the relationship you establish with them. Make them feel like your new best friend, make it easy for them to buy a car, and find out as much about them as you can before following up to ensure that when they do pick up the phone, you’re on the road to sweet success.
