YouTube Videos alone are Not going to Sell you Cars

Hello everyone,

I wanted to reshare this article written for Dealer20.com

The broken process in our industry is sending a templated email with one or two phone calls and then trying the next day.

I call 4x a day, with a video message, a confirmation to that video message, a handwritten card or thank you postcard, a text message and I call 4x a day.

The process closes over 20% of internet traffic.

Posted and Written by Alethe Denis on October 25, 2013

Branding yourself on Youtube is no simple task however Elise has managed to make her videos so popular amongst those in the auto industry that some stores are using them for training purposes. The Youtube Diva is on the cutting edge as far as incorporating the technology available to us today into her sales process. She’s also become quite good at it; being recognized by the likes of Jim Zigler as far back as 2010. She’s now sharing a lot of her insights at automotive industry conferences and of course via her YouTube channel.

In the beginning Elise’s videos were very focused on the vehicle, that the customer stated they were interested in, per the customers email or form filled out on the dealer website. Her videos strained to hold the attention of the prospect in todays busy world. They contained loads of information up front and rounded out at about 5 minutes run time. Elise found that by paring these videos down, to focus on starting that relationship with the customer, she had a lot more success and better customer response. Focus on the customer experience and the personal relationship, more than the vehicle and sales pitch right off the bat. You want to put the customer at ease, show them you are a real person and begin a friendship. Including referrals has also become a trademark of Elise’s videos to customers.

This process has been tried and tested with exceptional success by Elise. Below is her process for contacting new internet leads step-by-step:

1. From your Office Line, Call the customer at about 9am.
a. Tell the customer that you have “Some Great News” and ask for a return call
b. Keep it short and non-specific but give your hours and contact information
c. Let the customer know that if you don’t hear back from them you WILL try them again later today

2. Send your Video email message immediately after your first call attempt.
a. Introduce yourself and your store
b. Tell the customer briefly what you discussed if you got ahold of them and thank them for speaking with you
c. If you left a voicemail then give them your vehicle options that match the customer enquiry e.g. “We have the 2013 Honda Accord available in the red or white today”
d. Give the customer your direct contact information clearly and your hours in store
e. Make it Personal. Use the customers name and be casual and conversational
f. Keep your video under 90 seconds and under 60 seconds is optimal
g. Ask for the Call back and let the customer know that you WILL contact them again if you don’t hear from them.

3. From your Mobile Phone, Call the customer at about 11am.
a. Do NOT leave a message

4. From your Mobile Phone, Call the customer at about 2pm.
a. Again Do NOT leave a message

5. From your Office Line, Call the customer at about 5pm.
a. Leave a Message again with your contact details and hours in store today
b. Ask for the call back and explain that you WILL call the customer back again tomorrow if you do not hear from them before then

Some people may call this borderline harassment, but the simple fact is that the customer has requested this information about a car that interested them on your lot. You may get some negative feedback on occasion however for the most part it is your job to reply to these leads and you aren’t doing your job if you don’t get in touch with the customer.

The goal is to Set an Appointment. You can’t sell a car if you don’t get that customer on the lot. How you begin your relationship with each lead will determine if you get that appointment set. Treat each lead as Elise suggests above and I bet you set more appointments. It’s our job to sell cars and put the numbers on the board sure, but giving the customer the most wonderful car buying experience should also be high on your personal agenda. Once you get the customer on the lot they can fall in love with the car. Videos and that personal touch will build trust and help the customer to fall in love with your store. It also removes the awkward from your first appointment as the customer feels that they have already met you and you can get straight down to it when they arrive.

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Comment by Elise Kephart on November 9, 2013 at 8:59pm: Or you can put together a template like this...

Hi Noreen,

Good Morning! It's Elise Kephart, your Internet Sales Manager from Sunset Honda in San Luis Obispo.

While texts/e-mails are an easy way to communicate, I’ve always found that they lack that personal experience our customers expect when purchasing an automobile. With that said, I’ve made a personal video just for you that you can watch above or by watching here: VIP VIDEO MESSAGE FOR Noreen

I just tried to reach you over the phone but was unable to get through-it seems as if the number is invalid. I have some REALLY GREAT NEWS for you and would like to speak over the phone. Please call me directly at 805-540-6666 and if I don't hear back I will be sure to try you again later today.

Thank you so much again-and I look forward to providing you with a great buying experience!

Elise

PS: I have some special celebrity fans too :) Here is one from Justin Timberlake

Sent from my iPhone

Comment by Elise Kephart on November 9, 2013 at 8:57pm: 100 leads
80 contact
60 appointments
45 show
25 sales

Comment by Elise Kephart on November 9, 2013 at 8:54pm

Comment by Elise Kephart on November 9, 2013 at 8:51pm: Also, another way to look at it is this process will simply enhance your close ratio. Unless you are closing 25 % of your internet traffic then you are working less smart with time. Anyone would agree they would rather sell 25 cars off of 100 leads, then lets say 25 cars off of 175 leads.

Anyone can sell 25 cars with enough internet traffic given to them...this process is more about MAXIMIZING the traffic and close ratios.

Comment by Elise Kephart on November 9, 2013 at 8:40pm: Staff properly so that each person isn't overwhelmed with leads. When someone takes on too many leads, their close ratio drops. If you can go full throttle at 100 leads cradle to the grave you should be able to sell 25 cars a month. The flaw in the system is a person will take on too many leads, still sell 25 cars a month but the actual lead to sale ratio is much lower.

Honestly the time spent more on my end is the 4x a day phone calls and handwritten cards then a video that takes me 5 minutes to send.

Comment by Stan Sher on November 9, 2013 at 8:13pm: Excellent post and a very powerful process. Let me ask you. How many leads per month are you personally handling? I ask because many dealerships are understaffed to handle internet leads properly. I remember in 2005 selling Honda and being a part of a 6 person internet sales team and I personally handled 175 leads plus another 15-20 phone ups per month. If that was today I wonder if I would have time to make a personalized video to each of my 175 leads. I would think that handling 100 leads per month makes it easy to do this but juggling a much bigger workload might make it tougher. Do you have advice on how to simplify this process if you are stuck in a situation where you handle way too many leads? I see dealers with 3 internet people and 500-700 leads a month coming in. How would you handle it in that situation?

Comment by Alethe Denis on November 9, 2013 at 3:22pm: Thank you so much for sharing this Elise! It was a pleasure speaking with you and I very much enjoyed putting this article together.

For those who enjoyed this post please see more of our great content on Dealer20.com or view the original post here

Looking forward to seeing more wonderful tutorials and videos from theYoutubeDiva herself soon ;)

Comment by Elise Kephart on November 9, 2013 at 2:20pm: I will be recording my process and convo's (bleeping out the names of course for privacy reasons) ...but will post soon!

Comment by mattsmolik on November 9, 2013 at 11:14am: Thank you great post

Comment by Marsh Buice on November 9, 2013 at 10:31am: Elise, I love this post! Thank you for the share :)