The automotive market is incredibly interesting. It is incredibly saturated, yet, with ups and downs, demand for new and used vehicles remains fairly steady. Millennials may not be lining up to buy houses, jewelry, or meals at fast-casual restaurants, but even they buy cars.
For the typical customer, buying a car sits at the intersection of needs and desires, both of which pull at their hearts and minds when they shop for their new vehicle. That’s why car buyers can feel clueless. More customers than ever know exactly how much they want to spend, either total or per month, but many do not know what brand or model is right for them.
And that’s exactly why dealerships still employ salespeople. If buying a car was a purely financial matter, salespeople would have been replaced by cashiers decades ago. But the road to the car deal is not purely logical. Many customers rely on the attention and dedication of a salesperson to help them find the car they’ll fall in love with…and ensure they don’t get wet feet when it’s time to splash out for their exciting new rides.
The Key to Selling Cars? Communication.
Every step of the car sales process relies almost entirely on the communication skills of the salesperson. And typically, most of that is done face to face. But it’s the time and effort devoted to communication with customers who aren’t on the lot or in the showroom that separates the sales legends from the run-of-the-mill top performers.
The best thing a dealership owner, general manager, or general sales manager can do to increase sales and create more sales legends is to invest in the technology that will facilitate faster and easier customer communications.
If you’re selling enough cars already, disregard this…
Unified Communications (UC) is the answer to the prayers of owners and managers nationwide who dream of seeing their dealership thrive and create opportunity for a new generation of sales professionals.
Business phone systems operating on a UC platform integrate all the various methods of communication into a single communications system that connects to CRMs and other business tools. This massively increases productivity by automating routine work and eliminating the time spent switching between tools.
How does UC increase sales and gross profit?
So, you’re probably wondering how improving your communications platform will increase both the quality and quantity of car deals being made in your dealership.
Let me illustrate with a story. Jeff is a sales professional with several years of experience working for a decent-sized dealership selling three or four domestic auto brands. He’s focused, attentive, and knows the sales process backwards and forwards. His customer service skills are ridiculous, and he typically closes his deals on the second pencil without manager turn-over.
Jeff lives to sell cars and loves what he does. He’s a real car guy. He’s one of his dealership’s top performers, but every month, he feels a little disappointed because he keeps hitting what feels like a limit to his sales. There’s just not enough time in the day, even working well past “bell to bell.” He has the drive and the skills to become a sales legend, but he needs the tools to push it to the next level.
Then, his dealership deployed Switchvox, the fully-featured UC business phone system from Sangoma. Jeff understood how to use it from day one, and instantly, his performance was increased. For every two cars he was used to selling, he was now getting a third one out the door. Within a year, he was being awarded by the manufacturer as one of the brand’s top selling professionals in the country. How did Switchvox help him do it?
- Mobility: Switchvox Mobile enables Jeff to access every Switchvox feature and capability via his smartphone, including call controls, call recording, visual voicemail, and more. This means that Jeff can conduct all communication through his work extension on his personal device, no matter where he is. Walking the lot, pulling cars around, out to lunch, Jeff gets more opportunities to sell cars because it’s much easier for customers to reach him and there’s no confusion about which number is his.
- CRM Integration: The Extend API lets users build integrations with CRM applications, which triggers “screen-pops” displaying important caller information, location, and notes from previous interactions. Salesforce CRM integration is available out of the box. Jeff never had trouble remembering a customer, but now customers are happily reporting that every time they call, Jeff sounds like he was expecting their call, with no need to fill in old details. This personal touch not only saves time, but the impression it creates has been a huge source of referral customers.
- Call Queues: Queues enable calls to be delivered to the correct department or employee with little or no staff interaction. Queues ensure your customers are taken care of as quickly as possible based on your staffing levels. This has helped Jeff immensely because now incoming new customer calls are forwarded directly to the sales professional queue, with very few lost to the old system of parking calls for salespeople to pick up.
- Call Recording: Switchvox gives the ability to Jeff and his managers to record calls easily, with the press of a button. That means Jeff can easily record calls to review later, which means not a single detail is forgotten.
- Personalized Call Rules: With Switchvox, Jeff has the flexibility to set which of his phones ring, in what order, and what time of day. He can even have his status determine how his calls get routed, allowing him quick and dynamic control over his calls. This saves him and the customer time.
- Reduced Cost: With Switchvox, the communications for all of his dealership’s locations are combined into one. This allows for faster call handling as all incoming call traffic can be handled by one receptionist, instead of paying unnecessary salaries to several. Dealerships that implement Switchvox save an average of 40-60% on their monthly communications costs, which means Jeff is seeing a lot more spiffs for Saturday sales events.
Jeff has thrived since his dealership deployed the Switchvox UC business phone system, and so has the dealership which has increased sales by over 50% while saving significantly on communications costs compared to their older legacy phone system.
Are you ready to create your next sales legend?
Explore Switchvox, the UC business phone system designed for modern dealerships. With powerful functionality and productivity-increasing features, Switchvox is a true game-changer for every person involved in the car sales process.
Click here to learn more by checking out our free Switchvox for Auto Dealerships guide!