So, I get an opportunity to write blogs now about tips & techniques. This excites me because I read a lot of transcripts. I see some transcripts that anger me and some that amaze me. This post is more tips. Here we go…..
First and foremost a chat is very similar to a phone up. The difference is we can’t hear emotions but we can show emotions. So we are going to discuss how to handle a chat conversation.
I would start every conversation with “Welcome, my name is Ryan and your name is?” Hence, giving info asking for info. Auto dealers are bad about not training their guys. I know… not yours. I was trained like crazy. I remember listening to Grant Cardone every day for years on the way to work. Eventually I was training the people at the dealership. So here are some techniques I think we should all use. Always give information and ask for information. Example: “The price you requested is $34,233. Can I have an email address so I can send this to you?” Example: “Yes that vehicle is available, may I call you to discuss the details?” See it doesn’t have to be hard. I see it done every day. I also see “No” “you will have to give me your name and phone number to get a price.” What are you a human form? Wow! I just made that up. I like that. Dealers need to be the gateway of information.
Off subject: For so many years 3rd party companies have been educating your customers on how to buy & vehicle details. Dealership websites should be informative and easy to get the information they are looking for. Why are we making it so hard. Why do you not have a “Research” navigation button on your website? If you do, good job!
Ok I’m back. So we covered giving information & asking for information today. What about pricing? Do you give price or not? I say give it. If you don’t you will never see that person any way. What if it’s a competitor? Give it. They are not going to tell you and it doesn’t matter any way. People buy from people they like. It’s proven. I can’t begin to tell you how many people told my boss “We didn’t plan on buying today” after they bought the car. Do you think if I made the process hard, they would have still said the same thing? No. What do you do when someone says “We are not buying today?”
The dealerships that call me and say “Ryan, you’re not going to believe this, we have sold 5 cars off chat this week” are not telling customers they can’t have price. I know this is a structure thing and you may not be in control of these decisions but I encourage you to explore treating chat prospects more like phone prospects. The only difference is chat prospects are not in so much of a hurry to get off the phone with you. Take your time ask questions. They are not going to hang up on you. No need to feel rushed.
Wrap up- Give price, give and ask, show emotions, be the source for research, and sell yourself.
You guys are important to our economy and Contact At Once!. We thank you for all the hard work you put in on a daily basis. Continue to work hard and be blessed.
The following is a transcript of the “Ryan’s Story” video:
My Name is Ryan Lucia and I am a Sales Executive at ContactAtOnce! I have over 8 years in Dealerships. I started in 1999 and remember bringing in my cordless phone from home so I could stand on the corner and still take phone ups. I was so successful at scheduling appointments my boss approached me with a proposal. “Do you want to go into the Internet Department?” “No way!” I replied. Things were going well for me - I was selling 8 to 12 cars a month and making decent money my first 6 months in the business. Well, a week later I had no choice because the acting Internet Manager left. And so it begins…..
Does anyone remember the old CRM tool “Sales Enhancer?” That is what I used to manage the 380 + leads a month I was getting. Struggling to keep up with the new leads, I really had no follow up. Great news though… I went from selling 8-12 to 20 real quick. Back then I thought I was the man. Let’s do the math 400 leads 20 cars a month = 5% closing ratio. Strong, Right! So my boss sits me down shortly thereafter and suggests I bring someone else in to help me and maybe double the sales. Of course I was totally against it. Sure enough we were cranking out 35 to 40 cars a month in no time. We even hit 50 one month. Keep in mind this was a Hyundai store before Hyundai was big.
Times have changed. So should we. Since being at ContactAtOnce! I have seen morale at dealerships that use ContactAtOnce! go through the roof. We don’t like to admit it, but things are not like they used to be when we could stand on the corner. So why are some dealers doing well in these trying times while others are closing their doors? Willingness to change.
Instant Messaging / chat is used by Millions of people. It’s a new form of communication. Yes, I struggled with the idea at first. I am the guy that wants customer info upfront. Stats are stats and Instant Messaging is where it’s at. Instead of calling 5 times, emailing the same person trying to say the right thing to get them to respond, you receive the instant gratification all salespeople are looking for. We know if it is a “boy” or a “girl” at the end of the conversation. Deal or no deal. So, now we can handle 300 requests all the sudden because at the end of the conversation we know if it is worth following up on.
Best leads in the business come from where? Your site! Yes, many have figured out that driving traffic to a site will generally increase leads. Unfortunately many are spending a lot of money on “just” traffic. Traffic is no fun for anyone. I sit in it everyday.
Have you ever wanted to ask a question but didn’t want to be an inconvenience? Like asking “Can we help you?”. People are trained to say “no.” That’s why we don’t ask visitors on the lot, same theory. Give people an opportunity to ask you questions. During the conversation build report and go for the appointment.
Dealers coming together to make the process convenient again!
Don’t disclose sensitive information.
Remember, all conversations are saved.Anything you disclose to a customer is e-mailed to your manager, to the customer, and a hard copy is housed on the IM server. So, I recommend never making rude comments or offering unauthorized information.
IM lingo is generally a bad idea
As you become more familiar with the IM you may pick up on IM Lingo (such as “btw” for “by the way”).You never know exactly who you will be talking to and how much experience they may have with IM, so it’s best to avoid using any abbreviations. Never use emotion references such as the infamous smiley face “:-)”. However, if a customer initiates IM lingo it is safe to reciprocate on a low level.
Whoa, one at a time!
If you are a stacker and used to having more than one up at a time on the lot, don’t try it here!You can only handle one IM at a time.Handling multiple IM’s will cause confusion on your end and frustration on the customers end. If you are a stacker, you will try it anyway, but you will eventually see there is no way to handle two customers asking multiple questions.Just like you can not handle two phone conversations at one time, you can not handle two IM conversations at the same time.
