Internet Marketing Strategies

Your Floor Sales Team Is The Internet Team Too!
by David Kain

It is common in dealerships to separate the “floor” sales team from the “Internet or BDC” team. From a process standpoint, this is often the best approach.

The consumer, however, does not readily make this distinction. I cannot imagine a consumer coming in and asking for the newspaper salesperson or the television or radio salesperson. And you can bet that unless they’ve set an appointment, they are not likely to come in and ask for the Internet salesperson.

Because only a small percentage of prospects are inclined to fill out a form online before they stop by your dealership in person (even the best converting dealership websites only convert in the 10% range consistently), it is understandable that traditional floor salespeople often initially greet online shoppers. As a result, today’s floor salesperson is an Internet salesperson, whether we want them to be or they want to be. Because this is likely the case at your dealership, it is important to prepare them for the Internet customer.

I remember years ago in our training sessions at the dealership, they referred to “stealth” shoppers who had been online, and did not submit a form, but had gathered information to use in live dealership interaction. This is not a new phenomenon; we just act as if it is. Like when a salesperson approaches the sales manager and says the customer wants our best price. What’s new about that? We’ve seen these actions before. Instead of being unprepared, it’s time to be ultra prepared.

Sales managers should conduct regular meetings using the Internet to demonstrate their online specials, pricing, incentives, inventory, etc. Seldom do I go into a dealership where the sales team has been consistently oriented to the online environment by their sales managers. Give your team a gift for the New Year - start integrating the Internet in your sales meetings. Click around your own website, as well as those sites where you list your vehicles. Show your team what Edmunds recommends your prospects pay for your inventory. I think you’ll be surprised at the gross margin the prospect is being told they should pay.

You will improve your bottom line this year by accepting the fact that your prospects love starting the shopping process online. Equip your sales team to approach these prospects from a respectful position of equal knowledge and experience.

David Kain is president of KainAutomotive.com, an automotive training and consulting firm that specializes in Internet marketing and sales training. David can be reached by email at david@kainautomotive.com or by phone 1-866-546-3428. Visit his website at www.kainautomotive.com