Why Follow up is Important
Following up with customers is one of main skills to learn when turning a job of selling cars into a career. This skill can turn a below average car salesperson into a master salesperson with little effort. One of the main complaints of the car business for customers is that they feel like they have been "sold" or are not appreciated. Following up is one of the most important parts of customer service.
Why Follow Up Is Important
Almost everyone wants to feel important. Have you ever bought a big ticket item and received a call or note thanking you for your purchase? How did it make you feel? Appreciated, like you didn't get "sold" on something? For those exact reasons answers the question "why follow up is important." By following up with customers you let them know you care and you are in it for the long term. Also following up is important because the average trade cycle in America is 33 - 39 months. If you are able to follow up with your customers to mirror their trade cycle your customer base will increase in turn increasing your business every year regardless of the economy or market.
Different Types of Follow Up
There are only two types of to follow up with in car sales. There is unsold follow up. Unsold follow up is where the customer has left without buying and has decided to "think it over." Statistics show that when a customer leaves your location that you only have a 33% chance on them coming back and with great follow up if they come back you will be able to close 67% of those be backs. The other type of follow up is sold follow up. Sold follow up is when you have helped that customer buy a vehicle and you are trying to maintain the relationship. Maintaining a relationship is very important in sustaining a long term career. Another statistic is that most new car salespeople will only last six months before burning out but with proper follow up a car salesperson can maintain a book of business for twenty years. Also the one without proper follow up works an extra 10 - 15 hours per week with 80% less pay.
How often Should You Follow Up
Follow up schedules will be based on the type of customer but a constant is a newsletter every 45 days. A newsletter should be pretty simple consisting of a positive story, a few quotes, and/or a recipe. This way you keep something positive and your name in front of the customer frequently. Remember 33% of all people know someone who will be buying a vehicle within 90 days. Which brings up another follow up schedule point. For unsold customer it would be a good idea to follow up a few times after leaving your location and then every 90 days to work for referrals (if they already bought) or for the future sale when things change in their life. As far as sold customer follow up ideally it would be good to follow up once or twice a year to keep up and continue to get referrals.
Following up with customers is the life blood to a career in car sales. Following up makes the customers feel appreciated and they want to give you referrals so you can take care of their friends like you took care of them. If you want a career in selling cars then make developing your follow up skills a priority.
