Turn Price Shoppers into Customers

Posted 7/1/2009
By Jeremiah Wilson

Welcome to a new interactive format brought to you by AutoInc. Rather than just reading about best practices, you can hear it yourself. You will be able to listen to examples of good calls and examples of bad calls - all from the online version of AutoInc.

Questions such as the following are asked every day. What are they really saying? What are you really hearing?

• "Hi, how much would it cost to replace my muffler?"

• "I'm wondering how much it would cost for you to tell me what's wrong with my car?"

You hear these questions, but are you really listening? Do you hear the opportunity?

Your reaction to a customer checking on price directly relates to the number of customer inquiries that are converted into a sale.

For example, one day 10 people call your shop and five of these people come in for service. You have a 50 percent rate of converting phone calls to sales. On the other hand, the same day you get 10 calls and all 10 calls result in service. The conversion rate would be 100 percent.

A "price shopper" is a buyer waiting to be converted to a sale. Take actions to gain their business, and you will increase your car count. Conversely, if you see this call as a waste of time, you will have a lower conversion rate. Most shops' conversion rates are less than they think; industry studies indicate the average conversion rate is about 30 percent.

How are you and your technicians reacting to price shoppers? It's an important question because customers don't call without having a need. They require something and are looking for a shop to provide it.

The famous Russian scientist, Pavlov, conducted experiments in the 1890s and discovered that dogs and humans can be conditioned to respond a certain way. His studies showed that a dog salivated when it heard a bell because it learned to anticipate food. Even when no food was present and a bell was rung, the dog still salivated because he expected food. Pavlov's findings are applicable to your daily business.

Pavlov's research demonstrates that we can become conditioned to feel and to act in a predetermined (or programmed) manner. Price shoppers ring a sales bell for service shops. Callers with questions like "just checking on prices" are actually your bell. So, how does your staff respond? When the bell rings, do they salivate? Each phone call should be a trigger that a potential customer is on the line.

All inquiries and questions are vital to increased business and should never be treated as an irritation. However, too many reps consider price shopper phone calls to be a waste of time. The Pavlov bell most shops hear causes them to simply answer questions, with little or no effort to get the customer into their shop. Thus, price shoppers usually result in a lost opportunity.

Remember, all "just shopping around" customers are your biggest opportunity for increasing revenue.

The bell should cause you and your team to salivate for the business. Because each customer is ultimately deciding who to do business with, the phone call you answer should be the last call the customer makes.

Apply these principles and you will double the number of price shoppers converted into customers.

• Take extra time and learn everything you can about the caller.

• Use their name.

• Position your shop and your service apart from the competition.

• Set an appointment or get a commitment with this customer.

• Close the sale.

• Focus on each customer because you can close 10 out of 10 price shopping calls by creating a trusting and knowledgeable relationship.

Once you have created your own conditioned response to the Pavlov Bell, it is time to get your team programmed. Use these three steps:

1. Create a script or conditioned response to best address the price shopping opportunity.

2. Discuss the established responses in your weekly or monthly meetings.

3. Then, impress the staff with your example.

Make sure your team salivates when the customer bell rings. Also ensure that your team isn't conditioned to lose the sale to a competitor. Customers are not calling for fun. They have a problem that your shop can address. When customers price shop, they are not even looking for the cheapest price; they are looking for someone they can trust. That's what the price shopping bell should signal.

Jeremiah Wilson is the president and founder of ContactPoint.

Founded in 2001, ContactPoint developed a patented system to provide measurable results to in-house or outsourced sales training. ContactPoint's Mentor system provides training, call recording, call scoring, coaching and analytics designed to increase sales-close ratios. Incorporating patented technology, the program has been used globally across hundreds of locations in the automotive service, auto glass, hospitality, multifamily, medical and equipment rental industries.

For more information on ContactPoint, visit www.contactpointsolutions.com