Cars.com launched a new blog on Friday.   It includes news, tips and success stories so dealers can improve their online sales, while also providing an avenue for dealers to share feedback and advice with one another - basically the same concept as this blog except with a broader scope.

The blog, dealeradvantage.cars.com, is an extension of the Cars.com DealerADvantage monthly newsletter, Webinar series and local market workshops.

One of the featured posts in the new blog is a podcast entitled “How Can I Use Online Chat to Win More Sales?”.  Check it out.

Many readers will recognize the name Dennis Galbraith.  Dennis has been a promient presenter at industry conferences and an executive at Cars.com.  Recently Dennis launched a new company, RevenueGuru.com and the company’s website is an incredible resource that every GM and anyone that aspires to one day become a GM should tap.  From the RevenueGuru.com website:

RevenueGuru.com is about helping the companies we care so much about to help the consumers we all care about. It offers an ever-growing list of free tips, white papers, blogs, videos, and expert interviews. RevenuGuru.com also provides free, syndicated video and audio podcasts across the internet. We also offer a range of products, training, and consulting services to take your business to the next level of success.

Dennis is a proponent of chat as a means to connect more consumers with car dealers.  For Dennis, chat is not a novelty but rather a standard technology in the same class as the phone and email - technologies that every dealership should be using (and, perhaps with some help from RevenueGuru.com, using more effectively…). 

We highly recommend checking out Dennis’ site and subscribing to the podcasts (new content daily!) and other feeds of valuable information flowing from it.

Customers expect to be treated well from the beginning of the sales process and often times that begins with a chat, email or phone call. Customer service is the key and a potential car buyer will keep looking until they find the “right place” to purchase their vehicle. The “right place” not only has the right vehicle at the right price it also has the right channels through which the potential buyer may communicate with the dealership.

The “right place” will offer chat, email and phone and be consistent in using all three. When shoppers choose an avenue to communicate through, respond quickly and answer their questions. A quick response will let them know they are important and you are interested in their business. Build a rapport with the customer and promote the value of buying from your dealership, and in a short time you have created the “right place”.

Chat: Chat provides shoppers some initial anonymity while they are researching vehicles however; it is easy to get their information by gaining their trust. Respond quickly and promptly to their questions and keep your IM messages short. Once you have answered the first question, prompt the customer to tell their name with something similar to “My name is Jill, what’s yours?” Even though your name is displayed, this gives the customer the cue to provide theirs. As you answer their questions you will find opportunities to ask for contact information to provide follow-up information. Remember setting the appointment is key!

Email: Communicating via email is easy but not effortless. It requires your timely response and attention to detail. Grammar, punctuation and spelling are key ingredients to an effective email. Always ask open ended questions and engage your customer in dialogue until they are ready to commit to an appointment. Even if they are not ready to buy now, keep their email address and follow up with them every two weeks to once a month. This is a fast and easy way to keep customers in your sales pipeline.

Phone calls: Customers who phone in are often neglected. They are lost in the automated system, put on hold, transferred to the wrong extension, and usually left to leave a voice mail without a timely return call. Make these customers a priority and call them back within thirty minutes, and focus on answering their questions, gaining their trust, and setting the appointment, instead of making the sale.

Many people are adjusting to this new technology called Twitter, an application that allows you to make statements in a 140 character block.  They actually limit what you can say per post.  Why?  Well, men have been doing this for years.  We listen just enough to find out if we are interested and then if not we cut you off.  Same with a lot of things.  Our country as a whole is impatient and wants information and answers quickly.  So why is Twitter so hot?  Well, people can pick and choose what they read and it’s quick.  Headlines to top stories with links that people can pick and choose if they are interested.  Dealers everywhere are using Twitter to drive traffic, promote sales, promote service coupons, etc….

No, I am not selling Twitter (it’s actually free).  What I want to bring to your attention is the success that Twitter is having is the same reason why chat is so great.  Based on a JD Power study, 80% of the people leave your website without contacting you by phone or email.  That’s not good because your goal is to have those people so interested that they call or email, right?  So with a country so busy with lots of questions, taking in information at incredible speeds, wouldn’t you think chat is a solution for your shoppers to get the information they are seeking? 

I speak to dealers all the time that say “I just don’t want all these people asking me questions.”  Well here is a message to owners of dealerships….Companies are starting to brand themselves by being the source of information for the community.  Forget your billboards, newspaper ads, and any other short lived very expensive advertising.  Become the source of information for your shoppers and target markets.  You may actually learn more that way also.  So instead of shutting off communication between the dealer and their shoppers why wouldn’t you open it up?  We say people buy from people they like, right?  Well one common theme I see while reading chat transcripts is that people are less defensive for whatever reason using chat.  So, if they are less defensive and you are informative and likable who do you think gets that shoppers’ business?

So how is Twitter going to change the dealer world forever?  People are now expecting things to be even easier than ever and if you are not making it easy you will seem like you intend on keeping it hard for a reason.  It’s not the day anymore where you are the only guy selling that car.  Someone can go online and buy from another dealer in a different state.  More dealers are internet savvy and cutting edge while you are still offering form leads, marking in big red letters CALL ME “RYAN” FOR INTERNET PRICE.  The world is changing but are you?  This is a time where you need to be watching the technology and asking how it can be used to sell more cars.

I sold 3rd party leads before and I sold some leads for as much as $26.95 each.  Yes they were better than most but they weren’t from your website and they didn’t come to you live ready to ask questions.  They were email leads that you still had to call and leave messages for and hope they called back.  Chat can cost less than $200 bucks a month which often equates to pennies a lead.  Heck there is free chat out there.  Dealers are selling cars off of it and using this as an opportunity.  You would be amazed by the results you get from just adding it to your site.  People have questions, they want answers, can’t pick up the phone, and don’t really want all the sales stuff and they can’t talk to you but the guy up the street with chat, he is already in a conversation with them while you got an email lead with a bad phone number.  Odds are you’re out!

Am I selling you my product?  Nope, well…. I will if you are interested.  I am selling ideas…..ideas of technology, ideas that will grow your business and help you sell more.  Ideas that make you step back from your situation and enter into your shoppers shoes.  Check your competitors websites and see what they are doing.  The moral of the story is… I don’t care what chat you use (that’s a lie) just use some chat.