Shopping Different Makes / Models
Your customer came into the dealership looking to find their next new vehicle. You completed the Showroom Up Guide and gathered all the necessary information on your customer. You landed them on the vehicle that best fits their needs and presented payment options. No objections came to the surface, other than the customer wants a chance to visit different manufacturers to ensure that they are purchasing the right vehicle after exploring all the different options.
Your initial goal in this process is to contact the customer and thank them for taking the time to visit our dealership. Next we will want to ask the customer if they were able to visit other dealers and see other vehicles they were interested in.
Make sure you have resources available regarding the other makes available to you prior to making this phone call.
Thoughts:
Even if you do everything right— your customer may still want to explore other dealerships, makes, and models. Your focus from here should be making your communications with the customer meaningful. We will want to stay away from feeling or communicating defensive or desperate language if the customer brings up positives surrounding another vehicle or salesperson. Don’t put the other vehicle or dealership down during this process, it’s unprofessional. The only time this can be appropriate is agreeing with your customer’s statement.
If the customer has been to another dealership:
We want to ask about both the vehicle and their overall experience at the other dealership. Don’t be shy, ask them what they liked better about the vehicle first, then transition into what they liked better about your vehicle. This way you can transition from the positives about your vehicle the dealership into challenging the positives laid out by the customer and helping the customer come to a conclusion. This sounds like:
“So what did you think of the Kia Forte?”
“What did you like the most about it?”
“Nice, how did they treat you over there?”
“I know you really liked Camry’s new style, but remind me, what did you like most about the Camry?”
“Yeah I know the Forte has a lower price point, and it is a nice vehicle, but with the Camry you get the dependability of the Toyota brand AND Toyota Care. So, honestly, while the monthly payment may be lower on the Kia, you’re going to spend less on it in the long run.”
If the customer has not been to another dealership yet:
We want to figure out what that timeline looks like. This is something that should have been established during the showroom visit. The customer could have missed their commitment or they are taking their sweet ass time. Either way, use this as an opportunity to help them with their research in a low-stakes setting or figure out the timeline they are going to need to do their research. This sounds like this:
“I understand what it’s like to spend a few hours at a dealership, I mean, I do it all day. Have you seen the vehicle, is there information I can help you with? I mean, it’s easier for me to get information and I’m here to help you.”
“I get that you need to go over and check it out. I’m really not trying to bug you, but be here to help you. When do you think you’re heading over there so we can chat after?”
Regardless of the situation, most of the calls should start like this:
Word track:
"Hey Brian, Jake at Toyota. I just got a free second I’ve been meaning to call you. I wanted to thank you for coming in and spending some time with us the other day. I know you really liked the RAV4 we looked at. Did you ever get over to Kia or Honda?”