Rethinking the Invitation in for a Test Drive by Tiea Roper
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Jan 25 2013
1 comments

Rethinking the Invitation in for a Test Drive by Tiea Roper

I mean really, how fun does a test drive truly sound? Chances are the new vehicle will drive much like what they may be driving now, something they have recently rented or borrowed from a friend. With that being said, lets re-think the way we attract customers into our showroom or address why they have come in the first place.


Consider this: most customers new cell phone selection is very similar to their car shopping process. The itch takes hold and top choices are narrowed down. We ask our peers for advice via social media sites, read reviews and naturally hit YouTube to see the device in action.Excitement is at an all time high so it’s time to visit the cell phone store. To make a phone call, you ask? I think not. Show me the features!  Does it have Bluetooth, a personal assistant that will read my text messages or something that will make my life somehow simpler? Demo things on this puppy that I didn’t know I needed until you showed them to me, now you have my full attention.


Attracting Internet customers into the showroom can be very similar. Finding out what our customers are driving now and knowing what they are considering gives us an opportunity to expose them to some awesome new bells and whistles.  When it’s 10 degrees outside coming in for a “test drive” sounds cold. However, this vehicle has a heated steering wheel AND heated seats….hmmm sounds more like something I have to have in my life. Oh and cooled seats for the summer, navigation, and parking assist? I can make it in today at 4:00pm! Think outside the box the next time you want to ask, “What time can you come in for a test drive?” and replace it with “If you have time today I would love to show you the new awesome tablet style interface and all it can do! I have an opening at 3:15. Will that work for you?”


Wait…I may have forget to mention I still have 2 months left on my contract :)

Posted by Kain Automotive

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comments

    Jan 25
    2013

    Marc Wallace

    Great point Tiea! We need to enthusiastically communicate specific value to our customers at every turn. This is critical when it comes to setting a solid appointment for an internet customer to visit the dealership. When I started in the car business, there was only one objective when talking with a prospect on the phone: to get them in the dealership. So now we talk with our customers in many different ways and with internet customers we make many concessions e.g. price quotes etc. But if we are to see incremental growth in sales, setting solid appointments must remain our focus. We may jump back and forth through the steps to a sale but a solid appointment must always be our desired endpoint. Too often an Internet Salesperson will fall into the mindset that they cannot get the solid appointment. Too often we believe that merely inviting someone in for a test drive is sufficient. These practices need to be rethought. If we challenge ourselves to present a specifically valuable reason for every customer to set an appointment, we will set more appointments. If we set more appointments…closing ratio…more sales…a greater feeling of success…better energy for the next opportunity…more appointments…
    The best way to uncover specific value to a given customer is in information obtained from that customer. Even the most reticent internet customer will give us information we can use to tailor our approach. Perhaps we can find it in the trim level options of the vehicle they selected or in the technology gap between their desired vehicle and the one it is replacing. Detailed knowledge of competitive advantages and feature execution is instrumental here too. But those are other articles. Thanks for the ideas!

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