Automotive Lead Follow-up Best Practices for Dealership




Is there an issue with too much follow-up? Views among automotive sales professionals differ, but most would say that the quality of follow-up matters more than the frequency. Without a solid follow-up plan, your dealership could lose potential customers to competitors who are more proactive and offer personalized automotive lead follow-up.

Successful dealers know that closing leads efficiently demands timely and effective communication with each potential customer.

Dealerships often receive a high volume of leads each month, ranging from hundreds to thousands. A successful dealer understands the importance of promptly and effectively contacting every lead to achieve or surpass industry benchmarks for closing rates.

Let's explore some common mistakes that dealerships should avoid to optimize their performance with automotive lead follow-up:

common mistakes that dealerships should avoid
  • Neglecting to thoroughly read and understand the lead information.
  • Only making one attempt to contact the lead.
  • Delaying follow-up beyond five minutes after receiving the lead.
  • Using generic CRM email templates that lack personalization.
  • Failing to engage the customer through SMS text messaging.
  • Ignoring direct or implied questions mentioned in the lead comments.
  • Not involving managers after establishing two-way communication with the lead.
  • Neglecting to monitor automotive lead follow-up to-appointment, appointment show-up, and show-to-close conversion rates.

Here are five strategies for automotive lead follow-up with your sales to keep them engaged:

strategies for automotive lead follow-up

1. Choose Your Follow-Up Timing Carefully

Timing is Key: Avoid bombarding leads with communications too soon or too frequently, as it can overwhelm them and reflect poorly on your dealership. Take the time to craft thoughtful and informative messages that demonstrate your expertise and commitment to excellent customer service. Include updates relevant to the lead’s interests, such as new inventory they’ve shown interest in, recently sold vehicles, price reductions on models they’ve researched, and any seasonal incentives or exclusive offers to reignite their interest. This approach shows that you value their time and are invested in meeting their needs.

2. Use Predictive Technology to Identify Customer Needs

Sending generic follow-up messages to your sales leads can alienate them due to its impersonal nature. It’s essential for your sales team to understand the individual preferences and needs of each lead. By incorporating predictive intelligence tools into your follow-up strategy, you can:

Analyze the online activities of each automotive lead follow-up, such as their interest in trade-in options, preferred price ranges, or lease incentives.

Monitor the inventory each lead has browsed, enabling you to tailor follow-up conversations accordingly.

Identify when leads are actively browsing your website, allowing you to prioritize engagement with those potential customers.

3. Send Them a Personal Video to Get Their Attention

Following a great sales follow-up strategy is not always effective, and leads can go cold despite your team’s best efforts.

In those circumstances, you can enhance the consumer experience while also attracting their interest by utilizing modern digital solutions like video content.

Using video can make your communications feel more intimate and personal, and it can often capture a customer’s attention more effectively than an email or phone contact. These letters show time and effort and might reassure potential clients that your dealership values their business. To make your sales lead videos stand out to prospects, they should be personal, instructive, lively, and genuine.

4. Create an Irresistible automotive lead follow-up Call-to-Action (CTA)

Regardless of the communication method you employ in your sales follow-up strategy, it’s crucial to end each customer message with a compelling call-to-action (CTA). In email communications with car sales leads, you might encourage the recipient to contact the dealership for further information or to schedule an appointment online. During phone conversations with leads, prompt them to arrange an in-person appointment or to visit for a test-drive. Here are some general guidelines for crafting effective automotive lead follow-up CTAs:

  • Keep it concise: CTAs are typically one or two sentences long.
  • Use powerful verbs that encourage action, such as “Book Now” or “Learn More.”
  • Clearly state what you want the customer to do. Avoid overwhelming them with multiple options.
  • Prioritize simplicity: Make it effortless for customers to reach out to you or provide a direct link to a contact form.

5. Enhance Efficiency with the Right CRM Solution

Using the appropriate customer relationship management platform makes it easier to keep your warm automotive lead follow-up interested and convert more of them into sales. A fully integrated CRM can assist in managing all of your auto sales leads, whether they are obtained from your website or outside lead suppliers, allowing you to maximize each and every one of them. You can also obtain a thorough overview of your data (and your outcomes) by streamlining lead management duties and keeping an eye on lead follow-up. This will allow you to modify and enhance your methods.

Key features to look for in your CRM solution include:

  • Mobile accessibility via a dedicated app, allowing you to manage leads and complete follow-up tasks on the go.
  • AI-driven technology for automated and scheduled customer follow-up, ensuring timely and personalized communication.
  • A user-friendly interface that provides a unified view of all showroom activities in real-time, facilitating efficient monitoring and decision-making.

Unlocking the Key to Enhanced automotive lead follow-up

Key to Enhanced automotive lead follow-up

Your potential customers are actively seeking their next vehicle, and by implementing intelligent sales automotive lead follow-up strategies, you can steer them towards your dealership. Understanding what information to deliver and when to deliver it requires advanced technology capable of tracking online behaviors and discerning the desires of your leads.

Elevate the customer journey and boost vehicle sales with SimpSocial CRM. Our CRM solution, crafted by dealers for dealers, empowers you to streamline your sales processes while fostering stronger customer connections. From monitoring showroom activity and managing internet leads to facilitating mobile-responsive customer interactions and desk management, our platform enables you to elevate lead conversions without escalating vendor expenses.

Explore how SimpSocial CRM harnesses predictive intelligence to enhance revenue generation—reach out to us today.

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