Author: Jason Lafakis

How To Handle Calls Pertaining To Credit

Selling cars in today’s modern market is not as easy as selling cars used to be. The competition is fierce as ever, and traditional brick and mortars are now competing with 100% online sales, which is no easy task in itself – thanks Captain Obvious and Handle Calls Pertaining.

So as a car dealership you are always looking for the best way to communicate that your dealership is where customers want to buy from. One marketing strategy that has a proven track record of success is offering customers financing options.

You work with a vendor, get all your marketing campaigns launched and watch as the leads start to pour in. As potential customers call the dealership to inquire about a pre-qualification letter they’ve received, they’re looking for the Sales team to validate the letter and educate them on how simple and seamless this process is going to be for them.

Customer says, “Yes, I received a letter that says I’m pre-qualified and I’m just trying to see what this is about.”

This can be overwhelming for anyone who isn’t working in the Financing department, and the last thing you want is to lose a lead. Instead, make sure your Sales Team is prepared in advance to answer those questions – here is an easy talk track for Sales to help guide the customer while educating them through the process:

  • Congratulations on receiving one of those letters. That’s great news. Are you familiar with what we have going on at the store right now? (They will say no.)
  • You say it’s not a problem. I’m happy to fill you in. Are you familiar with any of our financing programs? (They will say no.)
  • Well we actually work with <quantity> vendors and right now we have a big sale going on to kick the new year off. Normally with our programs we’re able to help out several different types of customers. 
    • The first type of customer is someone who is looking to ESTABLISH credit. What that means is someone who may not have any credit or very little credit. Maybe someone who’s never financed or purchased a vehicle before and is looking to establish credit.
    • The second type is someone who is looking to RE-ESTABLISH their credit. What that means is typically they’ve had credit in the past but may have run into some challenges along the way and now are looking to get a fresh start and re-establish their credit.
    • The third type is someone who already has ESTABLISHED credit. Typically these are folks who have credit and have been blessed to not have run into challenges in the past and have a great track record w/ banks and vendors on making payments on time.
  • You say it’s not a problem. I’m happy to fill you in. Are you familiar with any of our financing programs? (They will say no.)

However they answer, you’re going to guide the conversation in the direction that addresses and provides solutions for their situation.

  • If they are looking to establish credit.
    • Sales Associate: Can you tell me a little about your current situation? 
    • Once the customer is done explaining, let them know that you work with vendors that specialize in helping folks establish credit and that they’re in good hands. You’ve helped many other customers purchase their first car etc etc.
    • Sales Associate: When will you be able to come in to review your options so I can help you make an informed decision on what your best options are right now?
  • If they are looking to re-establish credit. 
    • Sales Associate: Can you share with me a little bit about your situation?
    • Once the customer is done explaining, let them know that you work with vendors that specialize in helping folks re-establish their credit and get a fresh start and that they’re in good hands. You’ve helped many other customers get back on their feet etc and purchasing a car is one of the best ways for them to accomplish that.  
    • Sales Associate: When will you be able to come in to review your options so I can help you make an informed decision on what your best options are right now?
  • If they say they have excellent credit.
    • Sales Associate: Can you tell me a little about your current situation?
    • If they say ‘I have great credit’ or ‘have always paid my bills on time’. Tell them that’s fantastic because we have vendors that specialize in offering incredible deals for customers with a great track record of making payments on time. In fact you just helped several other customers with great credit get locked into 0% financing and that they’re in good hands.  
    • Sales Associate: When will you be able to come in to review your options so I can help you make an informed decision on what your best options are right now?

By helping your Sales Team to use this talk track you should be able to drastically increase not only your foot traffic, but appointments that are made and ultimately close more deals!

What is High-Frequency Automotive Marketing

Car Shoppers Ignore Your Marketing… Until Now

Have you ever thrown away a mail piece, didn’t read an email, ignored a voicemail, or scrolled past a display ad? Of course, we all have! And car shoppers do the same. Luckily we have a solution to minimize the amount of ignored marketing and maximize the amount of marketing that is consumed, understood, and acted on.

High Frequency, Multi-Channel Marketing

At T3 Marketing we rely heavily on our high frequency, multi-channel marketing strategies. We understand that a consumer can easily ignore one element of our outreach but it becomes harder to ignore and easier to consume marketing that is personalized to them, delivered through 3 or more mediums, and seen 5 or more times in a 30-day timeframe.

So How Do We Do This?

We utilize the following mediums to communicate our message to a hyper-targeted list of prospects:

Start With A Goal

Every marketing campaign begins with a goal. Let’s assume that our goal is to sell more cars to people who are likely to trade in their vehicle. We want to encourage car owners to trade in their vehicle and upgrade to a newer vehicle. Our next steps are to gather a list of prospects that we feel may be in a position to trade in their vehicle and potentially interested in purchasing a vehicle from your dealership. Most of the time this would be someone that meets one or more of the following criteria:

  • Has owned their vehicle for 3 or more years and hasn’t opened another automotive loan since this purchase
  • Has purchased at your dealership
  • Hasn’t purchased from your dealership but does own the same brand vehicle that you sell
  • Has serviced their vehicle at your dealership but has never purchased from your dealership
  • Has a lease that is expiring in the next 1 – 6 months

The Right Data Is Vital To Your Success

After we have our goal and our target prospects, now we need to create our messaging. We want this messaging to be extremely personalized and very natural in its delivery. Let’s assume that we are a Nissan dealership and we want to target vehicle owners that own a Nissan that is 3 – 6 years old. We also have proof that this person has not purchased another vehicle since the purchase of this Nissan. Now we want to create hyper-personalized messaging that resonates with them. 

Personalized Messaging Is Key

We will send out and create a direct mail piece, email, voicemail scripts, text messages and display ads that all communicate the same message. Then we will deploy these over the course of 30 days. Each piece of communication will help educate them on the fact that they can sell their vehicle for $##,### and purchase a brand new vehicle without changing the amount that they pay each month. 

If we JUST send a mailer, JUST send an email, JUST leave a voicemail, etc then it is VERY likely that our message will be ignored. To avoid being ignored we do the following:

  • Send an email that lets the consumer know that you just sent them a mailer that contains an offer to buy their vehicle
  • Send a handwritten letter that shows that consumers that you know that they drive a 2014 Nissan Altima, you are willing to purchase it for $##,### and they may be able to purchase a 2020 Nissan Altima and possibly lower their monthly payments. 
  • Send an email letting them know that they should have received the offer in the mail. We will recite the offer in this email. 
  • Leave a voicemail that lets them know that you have reached out by mail and email. Let them know that you have an aggressive offer to purchase their vehicle and that you’d like to talk.
  • Begin to serve them display ads that encourage them to trade in their vehicle and upgrade to the latest model

Increased Response Rates = More Cars Sold

When this is done correctly, the consumer cannot possibly ignore your message. There is a very high chance that they heard your communication, consumed it, and now have the option to respond or not. 

It’s undeniable that high frequency, multi-channel marketing increases your response rates on every marketing campaign. By doing this, you can make the most of the data that you are targeting.

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