Lost - Bought Elsewhere

Lost! Bought Elsewhere

Famous last words from the customer to help you be better next time. What value are you actually getting from a customer who bought a vehicle at another dealership? I say very little because at this point they are venting or pointing out where you failed in your sales process, but the truth is despite your best efforts to improve moving forward if your not acting on this information then you are missing a huge part of the next sale.

At this point the customer is probably a lot more honest about the whole ordeal now that the buying pressure has been lifted. I used to manage the new car department at Londonderry Dodge and one of the most common reasons for a customer buying elsewhere were

1.) Price

2.) Selection.

1.) Price- This is almost impossible to overcome after the fact, but you could make sure your manager is involved in the sale at a earlier stage to ensure the price is controlled from the manager which will hold more value to the customer usually. I mean when I go shopping I honestly feel like I am getting the better deal by speaking or dealing directly with the manager.

2.) Selection- This is the easy one of the two too overcome with customer's but once again a very difficult feat after the fact. Usually a customer becomes set on a certain color or cluster of option in a specific vehicle. The best remedy for this is great product knowledge, if your sales staff are trained on the inventory in stock properly they often will easily come up with an alternative option for your customer.

Internet sales has really changed the way we sell cars, and will increase even more in the near future. If your not solid in your process and sales follow-up you will be seen as prehistoric as a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

What are some of your thoughts on decreasing the number of email responses you get from your customer's that say, "Lost, bought elsewhere"?

I am interested in your response.

Below is a great video example on how to handle a lost bought elsewhere customer.

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Comment by Mike Paradies on June 25, 2013 at 9:22am: I couldn't disagree with this video more.

The VERY FIRST thing they need to do when a customer tells them that they "bought elsewhere" is ask if the customer has "taken delivery" of their new vehicle. If the customer has not taken delivery yet the phone specialist needs to get the manager on the call ASAP to see if we still have an opportunity. Put the customer on hold and run, don't walk, to the manager. This is a red alert, high priority. We don't want to call back later at this point. We want the manager to get together with the customer RIGHT NOW.

If in fact the customer has already taken possession of the new vehicle than they should shop the household. How many vehicles? How many drivers? Who's next in line for another vehicle? We have been asking customers to call us if they know someone in the market since the dawn of time and IT DOESN'T WORK. Unless you are paying a substantial "bird dog" fee (which is illegal in most states and unethical in all of the rest) you need to be proactive. Shop the household and finally wrap up the call with a proper referral request.

I understand what you are saying about directing the lost opportunity to the Service Department but realistically if you are going to empower your phone specialist to give away free oil changes you should certainly expect some immediate gain or else you are just throwing good money against bad. And absolutely be certain that the ownership has OK'd this additional cost. By the way, is the free oil change going to be charged to the sales department or fixed ops? Hmmmm?

Comment by Scott Strotz on June 24, 2013 at 10:35pm: Do you harp the 70% of the time as in business as usual, or do you sell more than 30% of your opportunities? I think you should confer with the individual that signed off to let them walk. With time and effort a procedure to quantify will find a way into your operation and a positive outlook will improve your resources performance and mindsets.

Comment by Bill Gasson on June 24, 2013 at 8:30pm: Chris,

Very good material .....