Today, I want to speak to the car dealers. More specifically, I want to talk to the BDC and appointment coordinators that work at dealerships. Let me ask you this. Have you ever had a prospect that didn’t book an appointment right away and you’re working on following up with them consistently?
Do you find that the question you tend to ask is, “Do you have any questions that I can answer? Are there any questions you might have that I can answer for you?” If you’re asking them that question more often than any other question, you’ve already lost the prospect. Here’s why
Before I get into here’s why, I want to explain to you that it’s not your fault. You see, when most appointment coordinators and BDC reps are first trained, they’re trained to do one thing and one thing only, and that’s getting an appointment and not much else.
what typically happens is you’ll ask a prospect, “Well, are you looking to lease or maybe finance? Do you have a trade-in? Can you come in today or would tomorrow be better?” The truth is, those aren’t engaging questions.
Those questions don’t really allow you, or allow the prospect should I say, to give you information about why they’re in the market, what their issues are and what they’re thinking as far as a new vehicle is concerned. The problem with that is it puts you in a much weaker position when it comes time to follow up if that prospect is not ready to book an appointment right now.
The reason it puts you in a weaker position is because it’s a weak question. Not only is it a weak question, but it implies that you as the appointment coordinator or BDC rep, you didn’t put the work in upfront to truly understand what the prospect’s needs are. So you get stuck in this horrible, inefficient, ineffective, time-consuming feedback loop, something I like to call, the do you have any questions purgatory.
You just keep calling the customer back and emailing the customer and texting the customer with that exact question over and over again to the point where they disappear.
So what should you do instead?
Well, instead of asking them right away, “Are you looking to lease or finance? Do you have a trade-in? Can you come in today or tomorrow?” Ask them some engaging questions.
Get on their page, find out more about them and what they’re looking to accomplish.
That way, if they’re not ready to book right then and there, as you follow up with them, they’ve told you what their issues are, they’ve told you what they’re looking for, and you can more effectively follow up with them and provide value to them so that when it comes time for them to book an appointment and come to the dealership, they’re ready, they’re willing, they’re able, and they’re choosing your store, not someone else’s.
Make sure to check my latest Youtube video where I explain this valuable tip!