I am not always right

Not for that one lead, but for 100 leads, I actually do!

I am not always right when it comes to following up on online leads. There are different ways and mindsets that can be successful when following up leads. Especially in recent years, when demand exceeded supply, you could sell cars with almost any approach.

Challenging

Now that the market is becoming more difficult, more dealership owners and car businesses are complaining about disappointing order intake and marketing costs being too high. Is marketing really too expensive, or is the conversion simply too low? In the latter case, marketing expenses are indeed too high. But there’s a reason for that: there’s no process or execution for following up on leads.

Is marketing really too expensive, or is the conversion simply too low?

Not right

Recently, I heard a dealer say that I was wrong: “Paul, with all these processes and methods, blah blah blah. Every lead is different, so a fixed process doesn’t work.” That could be true. It’s entirely possible that by doing something different every time, you still sell cars and succeed. Fine. But what happens when you add one, two, or three more salespeople? Will they all do something different, depending on how the wind blows with the customer, and will lead follow-up then be based on randomness?

When looking at just one lead, I am always wrong. Always! But with 100 leads, I am right. For that one lead, where all the exceptions apply, you can’t stick to a process. But for 100, you can. After all, all customers want the same thing: information. Information about price, trade-in value, delivery time, options, etc.

Process needed!

With our processes, we aim to start a dialogue. Once that meaningful dialogue happens, my follow-up process no longer applies, and I focus on getting an appointment and then closing a deal. Most leads are lost because a dialogue never takes place.

After one call, one text, and one email, most salespeople stop following up because the customer needs to prove they want to become a customer, while we should prove that we need the customer!

To have a dialogue with more leads, a process is needed. How often do you call, email, or text, and when? If you leave this to chance, you’ll lose on 100 leads, but not on that one… and then I am certainly wrong!