3 Tips to Master the Digital Sales Process at Your Dealership

Imagine the miracle of 90% of your customers congregating in one area at once. What would you do?

You would likely gather all of your sales team (and your entire team for that matter!), greet each customer quickly and enthusiastically, have engaging conversations, build relationships, answer questions, overcome objections, and encourage them to come into the dealership to learn more, get a VIP tour, excetera, all leading to the sale.

You are probably thinking, “if only…” right?

Dealers fantasize about all of their customers miraculously gathering in one place for them to cast their net in an overpopulated sea and easily pulling in an overflowing net. What dealers don’t realize is that this is possible, but doesn’t present itself in the same way it did for Simon thousands of years ago.

The truth is that 90% of customers are shopping online before ever entering our showroom. Therefore 90% of our customers are congregating in one area at once. Miracle achieved.

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My favorite line from sales to marketing is “just bring me more traffic and I’ll close more deals.” Sound familiar?

With the right digital sales process, we can captivate the 90% of customers shopping online, get 40% or more to set an appointment, 70% to come in, and 30% of those will purchase. Mastering the digital sales process is easier than you think, with these proven tips.

✳️ Tip 1: Set Yourself Up For Lead Generation Success

First impressions are made within 10 seconds. In the digital sales process, the greet starts when they inquire online, therefore their first impression is your digital showroom, meaning your website.

A Few Things You’ll Want to Discuss With Your Team.

1. • What does our digital showroom look like?
2. • Is our homepage eye-catching or overwhelming?
3. • Is our inventory up to date?
4. • Do we have the necessary and appropriate lead sources?
5. • Are we tracking and measuring our web traffic?

➡️ To learn more about how to master the first phase of the digital sales process: lead generation, watch below⬇️

✳️ Tip 2: Outrun The Competition With Lead Follow Up

This is where a dealer sets itself apart from the competition! In this phase, it's imperative to focus on quality follow-up to convert your digital leads into kept appointments and create an exceptional customer experience. A dealer must establish, build and maintain positive relationships to get customers from their initial hand raise to a kept appointment. By creating an exceptional customer experience from the beginning and throughout their online shopping journey, you are more likely to earn the sale.

5 Best Practices to Maximize the Second Phase of the
Digital Sales Process: Lead Follow Up

1. Follow up with EVERY incoming digital lead, NO exceptions.
2. Follow up within 10 minutes or less.
3. Track and measure:
   1. Response Time
   2. New Leads
   3. Leads Touched
   4. Lead to Set Appointment Performance
   5. Set to Kept Appointment Performance
   6. Kept to Sold Performance
   7. Conversion Performance
4. Strive to hit the following benchmarks:
   1. 40% Lead to Set Appointment
   2. 70% Set to Kept Appointment
   3. 30% Kept Appointment to Sold Conversion
5. Most Importantly, Don't stop following up!

✳️ Tip 3: Be Retail Ready And Convert More Leads

Once an appointment shows, it’s the dealer's internal sales team’s time to rock by converting the kept appointment into a sale. Phase three is all about the dealer's internal sales operations and process.

Depending on your internal sales process, you may transfer communication ownership from the BDC member to a sales member or sales manager.

Top Tips For Appointment Success

1. Be “retail-ready” outside the dealership
   1. Have bike options lined up outside
   2. Establish designated VIP appointment “lane”
2. Be “retail-ready” inside the dealership
   1. Have an appointment board (digital or physical)
   2. Log appointment into CRM, take notes, mark once sold
3. Communication Follow Up
   1. Whether sold or not, be sure to follow up. Identify the cadence that suits your dealership.
   2. Leverage your CRM to pre-schedule follow up appointments

➡️ To learn more about how to master the first phase of the digital sales process: lead follow-up, watch below⬇️ 

To learn more about the Digital Sales Process, how to implement it into your operations, and to see how LeadHelm can help you achieve your digital targets, please contact Adam Gelzinis at AdamG@LeadHelm.com