Delivered Vehicle Process

Your customer has taken delivery of their new vehicle.

Now we need to thank them for their business, make sure they are enjoying their new vehicle, and take care of any “We Owes” to ensure a positive experience to the customer after the sale. We will also be making the customer aware of the survey they will receive in order to ensure positive CSI scores and ask for any referrals.

Thoughts:

This is where we take a transaction and turn it into a relationship. The follow up phone calls are set up to establish the post delivery relationship. The following topics should be covered during your post call conversations:

Thank the Customer

Be sure to express gratitude for the customer choosing to purchase with us. They could have purchased their vehicle anywhere, but they chose to do so with us. If you need a word track it would sound like this:

  • “Thank you purchasing your car with us”

Post Sale Questions

Make sure they have a full understanding of their new vehicle. Some customers just went through a big technology upgrade and they may not have remembered everything you reviewed with the customer during the delivery process. This is the time to ask, let’s make sure they are comfortable with the vehicle. This sounds like this:

  • “How’s the new RAV4 treating you so far? I know we went over a bunch of things during the delivery process. Anything creeping up that you forgot that you need me to review again?”

We-Owes

This is a big one. If you sold a customer a car, but you still owe something like floor mats or accessories make sure you get it handled promptly and professionally. This is a huge source for CSI issues later down the line. Be sure to recap and set up follow up for any post-sale “we-owes” and be sure to make your commitments.

  • “So I have you set up to get your roof rack installed on Friday June 4th. I placed the order with the parts department and everything looks like it’s on track. I will call you back on the 2nd to confirm the parts have arrived and we’re on-track with the service department. If you have any questions or need to reschedule, please call me right away so I can make sure we’re ready for you”

CSI

A portion of your paycheck is dependent on your CSI scores. It’s also a reflection of our organization and a gauge customers use to choose their dealership. ANYTHING LESS THAN 5 STARS is a bad survey. Remind the customer to look out for the survey in their email and how the survey works. This sounds like:

  • “Hey Jake, don’t forget Toyota is going to send you a survey. Please remember this is my report card and anything less than 5 stars is a failure. So if there’s anything I missed let me know so I can make it right.”

Referrals

Building a book a business works the best when it’s built through word of mouth. We even have a referral program that will pay your customer for sending new customers your way. Don’t be shy, talk about it with the customer. Review the amount with your manager as this can change dealer to dealer within our group. This sounds like this:

  • “Hey Jake, remember if you know anyone else that’s looking for a car and you send them my way and they buy we’ll cut you a check for $50. So when everyone is asking you about that new RAV when you pull up to church tell them to ask for me and I’ll send you a check.”

Service:

Remind the customer what to expect with their vehicle. If they purchased a new vehicle or a TCUV they receive a 2 year/25k Mile Service Plan that comes with 5 services. They should expect to be in the dealership every 5 months or 5k miles. Set that expectation and introduce them to the service department. If they purchased an In-House Certified vehicle, they get a 1 year/10k Mile Service Plan that comes with 2 services.

Plan to meet with your customer during their service visits. This is a good time to make sure they don’t have any questions, continue to build the relationship, and ask for referrals to build your book of business. This will also go a long way to helping you establish an upgrade opportunity in a few years. Gently remind your customer that service will reach out, but you’re here to help. This sounds like this:

  • “Alright Jake, looks like everything’s all set. Just a reminder, the service team will be reaching out and we should have you out here in about 5-6 months for your first service. I’ll keep an eye on the schedule but be sure to let me know you’re coming so I can check in and say hello.”

A good post-showroom conversation should cover all of the topics listed above. Provided below are some word tracks to help get the conversation going:

Word Tracks:

“Brian, Hope you’re enjoying your new Rav4. Wanted to give you a call and thank you for your business. Did you have any questions about your new vehicle or anything else we can do for you on our end?”

“Jake, so happy to hear you love your new Camry. I really had a great time working with you. If you could do the dealership a huge favor and give us 5 stars on the survey we would really appreciate it. Did we do enough to ear 5 stars or was there anything else you needed?”

“Nick, thank you for purchase and the good survey. I had a great time hanging out with you at the dealership. Please send any friends or family members looking for a vehicle my way. I would be happy to help them out!”

You’re responsibilities for the post delivery process is a little different than the usual process. Your goal is to maintain the relationship long-term which will be handled by some automated emails and actions based on time and customer activity. The process discussed above should be handled in the early stages of the customer’s relationship with the dealership. After a bit of time, the service department will be responsible for helping you maintain this relationship until it’s time for the customer to upgrade their vehicle and re-initiate the cycle.

To complete this process you should expect the following task process to appear over the next few days.

(Click here for a link to learn how to complete a task in VinSolutions)

Day 1 - Call Customer and thank them for their purchase. Be sure to note record with any "we-owes", remind the customer of the survey, and ask for referrals. Only complete this task when contact has been made and post-delivery conversation has taken place. Leave attempts as notes and keep trying until completed.

This call and conversation must be completed. There are tasks for your manager, CSI rep, and GM that surround this call. ALL will be checking that you completed the call. Do not complete the task until you’ve actually spoken to the customer, leave your notes as attempts until you’ve made contact.

Day 90- Automated Check-In and Referral Reminder. Email will be sent on your behalf.

Day 180- Automate Check-In for First Service, and Referral reminder. Email will be sent on your behalf.

Once a customer becomes eligible via projected equity, large RO spend, or loan age, they will begin to receive automatic appraisal texts during service visits. Over years 2-5 customer will receive regular emails for upgrade options but you will receive check in phone calls at:

Year 3- Upgrade Check In Call

Year 4- Upgrade Check In Call

Year 5 Upgrade Check In Call