Who cares how many email addresses your dealership collects
Once you have them, what are you going to do with them?
When I was on the floor; I got every customers email address. I was determined to follow up via phone and email, if for some reason I was unable to close the sale.
It’s what I did. It was part of MY process.
If I couldn’t close the customer on the first visit or failed at capturing a solid appointment over the phone, you can bet I was going to take a photo of the vehicle they were interested in (with my Sony Mavica Floppy disc camera) and send them a photo(s) with an email brochure until they were sold or kindly asked me to stop.
If a sales representative is determined to follow up with a customer with a personal email, they’ll ask for it (if they’re really good, he/she will even acquire their mailing address and send them a personal card in the mail).
Now we have the technology to not only send a photo but a quick vehicle video walk-around right from our phone.
That being said, when was the last time you saw someone from your sales staff taking photos or a video of a vehicle with their iphone, then sending to a potential customer?
If a sales professional is determined to follow up with a customer via email, they’ll acquire a customers email address. It will be part of their process.
Too often, having a mandatory email capture rate lands you a CRM full of bogus email addresses. Hopeful in keeping the management mouths shut.
If you don’t have a consistent email marketing campaign in place for prospect and retention, then why does it matter if you acquire a customers email address?
Because the manufacture said so…
True – but let’s agree, retention after the sale is something most sales staff place little importance on.
Education. Take the time to educate your staff on the direct benefits in gaining a customers email address. Get their buy-in by showing and educating them on the importance of how it helps them sell more cars, and schedule more service.
Are your sales and service staff copied on each email campaign? If not..why? Get it done! Today.
Including and copying your staff on your email campaigns will eventually help them understand the importance of capturing the email address. Especially when they tie it back to a direct opportunity to a sale.
We train our sales staff to sell on benefits not features.
Shouldn’t we do the same?
