Whether you work the showroom floor or you are an Internet Sales Manager (Internet Car Salesman) Internet Leads are the one of the starting points of Fresh Ups today. We know that floor traffic is not what it used to be a only a few years ago so in order to make a good living you need to be able to take a customer from an Internet Lead or email and turn them into a showroom visitor in order to be an effective car salesman and sell them a car.  I get a lot of email asking about how to get the customer to come in to the dealership after receiving a lead so here are a few things to remember the next time you are working an Internet lead for the car salesman.

Internet Leads for the Car SalesmanThe Internet customer can visit any number of sites where they can submit a lead, but by far the best Internet leads for the car salesman will come from your own website. Whether they searched and found your site or if they were intentionally looking for your site the fact remains that the closing ratio of leads that come from your dealerships site will close more often and produce a higher gross. These are often past customers or they may have been referred by someone or a website. Either way you want to make sure you do everything you can to convert these leads to into showroom visitors.

Internet Leads and Car Salesman Control

Once you get them to visit your dealership everything changes, but getting them to visit you and your dealership is the challenge. When they are behind their computer submitting leads or sending emails they are in control. As car salespeople we are not used to the customer having that much control, but that is one of things that we have to change about ourselves when we are working Internet leads for the car salesman. We need to cater to them, but it doesn’t mean we have to give away the store or tell them everything they want to know. We need to give them enough information, to make us their dealer of choice, but not enough to disqualify us from their shopping list.

We need to embrace their emotional side, which is very difficult to do in email. They are using logic when they are submitting an Internet lead for the car salesman and we all know logic is the quickest killer of gross in the car business. Your communication with the potential customer should not only be timely (meaning the first dealer to contact them has the best chance), but it should also provide the information they requested and something that can get them to respond to you along with statements or questions that will engage their senses. For example; “Have you had a chance to drive the New Ford F150 and feel the smooth ride?” You want to engage their senses and get them to start thinking about driving and experiencing and owning the vehicle you will be more memorable to them and start to create a bond with them. Then invite them in for a test drive, offer to show them the differences in the trim levels while they are at your dealership.

Internet Leads Can Make Gross for the Car Salesman

Ok, I know what you are thinking. You are saying that all the Internet customers are mooches and all they are concerned about is price. Everyone is concerned about price, but if you treat your Internet leads for the car salesman or car saleswoman like all they care about is price you are going to end up with a “mini” and you will never have a chance to switch them or up-sell them. Granted you may have to price them in order to get them to come to your dealership, but if all you do is try to make it a quick in and out sale you won’t even make switching an option. In the car business we all know that we have to take the good with the bad. In other words sometimes we spend the whole day and sell nothing but a zero dollar deal and other days we can make a grand commission on one deal. I have sold many Internet customers and that were 3, 4 , 5 and 6-pounders.

Just because your customer originated from an Internet lead for the car salesman it doesn’t mean you have to treat them like a convenience store sale. Build a relationship with them that starts with the lead. Get to know them and what’s important to them besides price. Price is an issue when you are working a Fresh Up off the showroom floor just as much as it is for the Internet customer. You are the one that can make a difference unless you are happy making “minis”, that’s not why you wanted to become a car salesman.

Later, Fresh Up on the Lot

KB

Connect with your customers and sell more cars…Car Sales Referrals, Prospects and Follow-Up