Consumers are highly attuned to the many aspects of the buying and selling process. They know what they want and they know how to get it. As a result, your staff needs to be on their game at all times. They need to be able to hold gross when appropriate and be a fount of information the entire time. To say you need experts on your lot is an understatement. But how do you advance the industry enough to get there? Here are the top five ways how:
5. Capture More Data
The information you need to succeed is out there. It is just a matter of harnessing the capability of existing data and putting it to work for you. When it comes to your staff, information is truly king. Keep that in mind when you are both hiring and training employees. Always gear your staff toward improvement by knowing all the details behind your lot, your products, your employees, and, of course, your customers. Leverage data in new ways to best understand your customer’s buying habits and the true value of your merchandise, then you can empower your staff to help you sell more cars at the best gross possible. It all stems from capturing new data from existing touchpoints and weaponizing that data for the good of your dealership. Where are you currently capturing data from and how are you using it?
4. Deploy Advanced Technology Solutions
A number of solutions are available on the market to help your staff succeed. These tools range from simple to complex. Some are necessary components while others offer a new level of interoperability between your dealership’s technology solutions and your customer’s shopping habits. Enhanced inventory management means that you are able to track all your vehicles quickly and efficiently, and can merchandise them without worry. Couple that with a digital showroom, and you create a next-level shopping experience for your customers. This puts your staff in a place where they have all the tools necessary to succeed for your dealership. Your employees have the toys and tools to help not only sell more cars, but to sell them at the right price while providing an unparalleled value for your customers.
3. Build Transparency and Trust
There will always be an elephant in the room when it comes to car salespeople. Customers are trained by movies and TV shows to see your sales staff as slick opportunists. But that impression is drastically changing. In order to break down existing barriers, you need to build transparency and trust between potential customers and your staff. Not only does having the right data and solutions help this, but you must leverage those tools to build confidence and establish a relationship between both parties. One such way to do this is by utilizing advanced tools to build up the skills of your employees in the process of buying used vehicles and merchandising them. Illustrate to your customers the true value of their used vehicle with hard figures and back it up with transparent data. Lift the veil and bring them into the trade and appraisal process. When your staff can walk a customer through exactly why their car is being valued at the price you say it is, you lift tension and drama from the used car trade-in process.
2. Deliver an Omnichannel Experience
Buying and selling is no longer black and white. Gone are the days of simply seeing an ad in the newspaper and heading to a dealer’s lot to check out a deal on a new or used car. Nowadays, the path for consumer purchasing is blurred between different outlets. Because of that, it is your job to provide as many touchpoints as possible. This goes beyond simply having a website. Rather, you need a digital storefront that acts as an effective tool for advertising, merchandising, and providing an enhanced path to purchase. Marrying your digital and physical properties allows customers to seamlessly interact with your dealership as a brand. They can get more information about the vehicles they want and move quicker in the sales process. From social media to digital devices and next-generation technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and lot, you can deliver an experience that goes beyond the traditional and moves your dealership to a new level of competition. Your staff will be able to interact with your customers at different stages. This provides not only trust, but helps your staff to build a repertoire and relationship with customers.
1. Be Enthusiastic Product Champions
The more you know, the better you can do. Data can do a great job of creating opportunities for your staff. But it is up to you to create an atmosphere of enthusiastic product champions. With your staff armed with the best tools for success, it’s up to you to generate the environment where they can transform the customer experience. Providing in-depth information about cars and then building a training platform to encourage growth from within will put a smile on the face of your staff members, as well as current and future customers. Your staff will feel more confident in their ability to deliver an enhanced customer experience that best matches the desires of the customer.
MAX Digital provides advanced tools and solutions for the automotive industry. Through these tools and solutions, car dealers can actively engage in creating a better customer experience, hold more gross, sell more cars at a proper value, and build trust and transparency between staff members and customers. For more information on the various tools available, schedule your free demo today.