CHANNEL BLADE CONTRIBUTING COLUMN
. Author: Bob McCann
. Magazine: Boat & Motor Dealer
. Issue: December 08
Bob McCann, Director of Client Education, Channel Blade
Bob McCann, a 15-year sales education veteran, is the author of the nationally-recognized e-Business sales method known as TIPS (Traffic, Interactive Website, Process, Sales.) As the director of client education for Channel Blade, McCann has developed proven e-business sales processes to support the company's growing list of clients, including more than 60 leading manufacturers and 2,000 dealer locations worldwide. Channel Blade (www.channelblade.com) provides award-winning Web site, lead generation, lead management and sales education solutions to the Marine, RV and Powersports industries. McCann and the marketing department can be reached at (877) 242-5233, marketing@channelblade.com.
Ongoing education is critical to turning e-business efforts into a measurable profit center.
Having an award-winning Web site and a world-class lead management solution in place is a good, mandatory start but itis not enough to fully leverage the power of the Web -especially in difficult market conditions. A customized sales training program designed by a reputable Web solutions provider should focus on making that crucial, positive first impression on new leads, engaging them through powerful phone conversations and nurturing long-term relationships throughout the buying cycle.
Make a positive first impression and nurture leads
Due to the long-term process associated with boat buying, dealers should commit to nurturing leads in the long run to better position themselves to close the sale when the time is right. In order to gain credibility and trust, dealers must send out meaningful e-mails continuously. Texas Marine, Beaumont, Texas, strongly believes in relationship selling, especially since implementing ongoing sales training from its current Web solutions provider. "We use our CRM tool for constant follow-up and have a process in place to send specific responses for every given scenario and with pre-determined frequency," says Ryan Herbert, eBusiness Manager.
In their initial response to a lead, dealers must also make that crucial, positive first impression with strong impact. "We have an auto-responder to reply to leads immediately so they at least know that we have acknowledged their request," says Jeff Truesdale, general manager of Clarks Landing Boat Sales, a multi-location dealer in Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Virginia. "Then within three hours of that initial response, we send a personal response coming from a sales person."
The response must also be brief and to the point. "We always keep initial responses to about four sentences," says Truesdale. "One major learning curve over the past two years has been to make sure that salespeople are answering a specific question with a specific answer; if prospects ask for information on a trade-in, request a brochure or quote, we must give them the answer they are looking for so we can get them on the phone faster."
"One of the most valuable pieces of information taken from the education session was that responding promptly and professionally to a prospective buyer greatly improves our chances of getting that sale," says Brian Hawkes, eBusiness manager at Link Recreational, a multi-location dealer in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Lead management tools and effective methods of turning leads into sales are always evolving so one training session isn't enough. Texas Marine has changed the mindset of its sales team and the way they approach leads as a result of ongoing training. "We treat every prospect as a customer," says Herbert. "We gear our entire culture towards long-term relationship building."
A marine industry solutions provider with a proven track record should provide a solid education package to help you benefit from the latest, most effective sales tactics designed to consistently grow your business. Due to the increase in Web leads over the past 12 to 16 months, Texas Marine has focused the majority of its sales training on follow-up. "In order to stay ahead of the game, we rely heavily on several Web-based mechanisms, including lead management and education solutions; lead sources [phone, e-mail, walk-in]; competitors' and other industry Web sites; and Sea Ray," says Truesdale.
Make appointment-generating phone calls
Studies indicate that salespeople are much more effective when they are able to use all their communication assets-body language, tone, and words. When we simply reply to a lead with an e-mail and do not take the opportunity to call when a phone number is available, we lose 35 percent of our effectiveness to communicate (Source: Harvard Business School). Communication experts tell us that 55 percent of our communication comes through our body language, 35 percent through our tone and only seven percent from the words that we choose. Telling salespeople to get on the phone will not get better results -educating them on how to make appointment-generating phone calls will. "Our entire staff has been educated on how to use the phone," says Larry Russo, Jr., vice president and general manager of Russo Marine, Medford, Mass. "In fact, we have conducted both on- and off-site training. Through sales training and education, we defined specific methods and scripts for each sales scenario, from making the initial introduction to answering a simple question."
Salespeople should listen intently, clearly answer questions, ask engaging, open-ended questions and move the conversation towards making an appointment and closing the sale. This requires continuous education, role playing and coaching to help salespeople get the most out of their tone and words. "The only thing the prospect has is that mental picture of the salesperson from the use of their words and the inflection in their voice," explains Russo. "We make sure our staff is prepared and all desks are in order before talking to a prospect; each sales person is trained to be enthusiastic, smile, sit up straight and avoid awkward silences." Some of these small improvements show the prospect that the salesperson cares and drastically improves the dealership's image and the prospect's first impression.
The most effective tool for continuous phone training is recording the calls-a proven method used across industries today to evaluate and re-adjust as needed. This insures that the sales team is living and breathing the information received from the training and enables management to continuously coach and make calls more effective. Dealers should monitor their phone calls for continuous improvement just like professional sports teams review their recorded game plays. "Listening to these recordings has become a vital component in our sales training," says Herbert. "We constantly listen to these recordings to make sure the Texas Marine team is communicating effectively. We also take note of the positives and negatives so we can avoid any miscommunications in the future."
Reach out and touch-often
A lead goes cold within an hour or two so it is imperative to be prompt and remain highly visible by communicating regularly until prospects are ready to sign on the dotted line. "In order to keep e-mails fresh, we change the sender of each e-mail so prospects know that their salesperson is not the only one who values their business; this assures that the prospect feels important" says Herbert. "We also steer clear of direct-sell e-mails. Instead, we send informative communications that include tips on hurricanes, insurance, boat damages, etc." By doing so, not only do dealers keep prospects engaged but they also learn of newer and more effective sales methods from experience.
Another important point is a widespread trend that could potentially affect dealers' e-marketing efforts. With so many rules and laws protecting privacy today, e-mails can easily be blocked and very rarely reach their destination. For instance, dealers often use image-rich e-mails but unless properly formatted, they will be blocked by SPAM filters or image suppression tools used with Outlook and PDAs. Images and text should be separated to prevent SPAM filters from blocking e-mails. "Our Web solutions provider incorporated e-mail best practices in our sales training so we avoid SPAM blockage when reaching out to prospects and current clients in our lead management database," says Russo. "For large e-mail blasts and campaigns, we only include a logo."
Dealers should take this process a step further. For example, they can set up brainstorming sessions with their sales team and with their education solutions provider to develop and implement new follow up ideas.
Inspect what you expect
Lead management solutions not only make it easier to respond and continually stay in touch with prospective buyers and existing customers, but they also serve as a tool to coach salespeople and motivate them to follow procedures. "The vice president of sales and I meet with each sales manager and salesperson once a week to review the contact history with each lead," says Herbert. "We make sure that every response, including phone calls and e-mails, is handled correctly with the right language."
A popular leadership skill is "Hug 'em, Smack 'em, Hug 'em." Based on reports from the dealership's lead management solution, a manager should look for what the salesperson is doing right and begin coaching sessions with the praise and positive feedback, followed by corrections. Sharing the good and the bad together will improve the salesperson's strategy immediately. For example, a manager reviews leads and finds that a particular lead was responded to quickly but a closer look shows that the salesperson was a little short on the reply and didn't answer the customer's question directly. In this case, the manager should coach the salesperson, beginning with the positive-quick response time-then suggesting a more effective and direct reply. Closing the critique by pairing the fast response with a more effective content will result in more sales. Wins should be shared during team meetings while losses and mistakes should be discussed one-on-one. "Even our veteran salespeople can benefit from an extra set of eyes," explains Herbert. "Continuous sales training and evaluation are crucial to ensure that our salespeople are accomplishing the ultimate goal of getting the lead into the dealership."
Combining a world-class lead management solution with a multi-faceted, ongoing education program will enable dealers to spot both winning formulas and deal breakers, turning more leads into sales in the short and long run. "Since implementing more focused sales training programs and updating our CRM tools and processes, our closing ratio has increased by 25 to 30 percent," says Herbert. "Of course, part of raising our closing ratio is our ability to increase the overall amount of 'be-backs' or prospects returning to the dealership. Our overall percentage of be-backs has risen by about 40 to 45 percent."
