A dealership’s ability to follow up with potential customers is critical to boosting monthly vehicle transactions. However, not all dealers consistently implement a car sales follow-up strategy that engages leads effectively to encourage further actions. Dealers must address this shortcoming by implementing new steps for boosting lead conversion rates to improve the bottom line. 

5 Car Sales Follow-Up Steps
 

All dealers should consider implementing the following five car sales follow-up steps to keep leads interested: 

1. Use a CRM to Track and Communicate with Leads 

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a tool that allows businesses to keep track of their existing and potential customers. Dealers can use a CRM to: 

• Track leads and contacts 
• Make appointments 
• Categorize contacts into distinct lists 
• Collect notes from phone conversations and meetings 

Dealers can also use CRM software to ensure that every salesperson follows internally approved processes. This process might include how many emails and phone calls sales reps should disseminate per lead monthly. 

2. Include a CTA 

Dealers should conclude customer communications in any form with a call to action (CTA). The specific objectives of a given CTA might differ based on the mode as follows: 

• Email. Encourage the customer to call the dealership for more information or make an online appointment. 

• Phone call. Encourage the customer to make an in-person appointment. 

• In-person appointment. Encourage the customer to do business. 

General guidelines for crafting a compelling CTA include: 

• Brevity. CTAs are typically no more than one or two sentences long. 

• Impact. CTAs should include powerful verbs that prompt action. 

• Clarity. The dealer should ask the reader to take a specific action, not confuse them by offering multiple options. 

• Simplicity. Include contact information and a simple means for communication, such as a direct link to the website’s contact page in email communications. 
  
  

3. Use Videos to Warm Up Cold Leads 

Following a solid follow-up strategy is not foolproof, and sometimes, leads go cold despite best efforts. In those cases, dealers might leverage newer digital vehicles such as video. 

Videos have a more intimate feel and often catch a customer’s attention more effectively than an email or phone call. They demonstrate time and effort and can indicate to customers that the dealer truly values their business. 

Videos should be: 

• Personal 
• Informational 
• Upbeat 
• Thankful 
  
  

4. Use Tracking Tools to Pinpoint Customer Needs

Understanding customers’ wants and needs are crucial to finding them the right car. Predictive intelligence tools can help dealers provide this value by: 

• Tracking what the lead viewed on the website. Reviewing a detailed history of website visits, such as whether they researched trade-ins, searched specific price ranges, reviewed lease incentives, or explored trade-in options. 

• Tracking what inventory the lead researched. Knowing what customers are looking for helps dealers craft informed scripts for follow-up conversations. 

• Knowing when leads are on the website. Picking the right time to follow up with leads is critical and knowing who is actively searching the website helps dealers prioritize those potential customers who are actively shopping. 

  
It is critical to gain insight into a lead’s online activity and know what they want. 

5. Know When to Reach Out  

Dealers should resist the temptation to overload leads with follow-ups, which can inconvenience would-be customers and cause them to ignore communications altogether. 

Instead, dealers should limit communications to information relevant to each prospect’s needs.  

Those updates might include: 

• New Inventory. A new piece of inventory is a terrific incentive to contact leads. 

• Sold Inventory. Selling vehicles that interest leads is not necessarily a bad thing. Informing leads as soon as possible (while sharing similar automobiles they might be interested in) demonstrates transparency and might prompt them to act more quickly next time. 

• Price decreases. Notifying leads when the price of a vehicle they researched drops can prompt fast responses. 

• Incentives. Alerting interested prospects to seasonal incentives or exclusive offers might be the necessary final push. 
  
  

You Need Solutions That Offer the Right Information 

Your customers want information on their timetable, and you can better adapt your car sales follow-up technique via these strategies. They will improve customer experiences and potentially aid in purchasing and selling additional vehicles. 

However, knowing what information to provide (and when to offer it) requires the right technology to track online activity and identify what your leads ultimately want. 

Contact us today and discover how Affinitiv’s XRM can help you leverage predictive intelligence to increase lead conversion and drive more revenue.