Do you know how your sales team handles every customer engagement? Are you tracking the right data regarding their experiences? Do you know the truth about lost sales? An independent mystery shop can uncover unbiased details about missing revenue.
I recently spoke with a dealer principal who confessed that he knew something was off with his sales team, but couldn’t get to the bottom of it. Based on some customer feedback received over the past month, he felt the team wasn’t handling eLeads promptly. After digging deeper, he discovered the dealership was also losing business to competitors. I recommended a mystery shop to determine what was really happening.
After completing the in-depth, thorough mystery shop, he learned that his team was doing a great job responding to eLeads and phone calls. However, they fell short in the process of advancing those leads to actual sales, causing potential customers to abandon the dealership and purchase elsewhere. The solution is targeted training on sales cadence, performance incentives, and accountability guardrails. The mystery shop revealed that investing in his existing team proved to be the best use of his money.
Training Drives Great Customer Experiences
Online customers look different than in-store buyers. Cox Automotive’s newest study on the Digitization of Automotive Retail reveals that 65 percent of shoppers would complete some or most of the purchase process online. Approximately the same number of in-store buyers said their experience could have been improved with a better online-to-offline process. Consider this your sign to level up training so your team can keep those buyers engaged and translate eLeads to bottom line revenue.
At EFG, we understand the important role digital sales play in the buying process. Our Digital Road Through the Sale class is optimized for success in the online-to-offline process. From the first customer engagement to closing the deal, our award-winning training team guides your team through a step-by-step, proven process. My dealer friend agrees – he had a great team, but they needed updated training and a proven process they could follow.
Mystery Shop Delivers Benchmark Data
As a dealer principal, you’re doing all the right things. Weekly meetings with team members, 5-minute walkarounds, with an incentive plan to reward success. But standing in the customer’s shoes to understand what your customers experience every day is mandatory, as well as benchmarking the competition to understand their processes.
An independent, data-based mystery shop not only evaluates your dealership’s customer engagement, but it also compares your performance to the dealerships down the street. Our detailed mystery shop research makes apples-to-apples comparisons based on a set structure. We deliver more than data. We also provide actionable insights to help you address any culture or technology issues, identify training gaps, and capitalize on marketing opportunities.
At EFG Companies, we’re more than an F&I provider; we’re your business partner in the retail automotive industry. Together, let’s MAKE MORE this year. Schedule a meeting with EFG to claim a complimentary Mystery Shop voucher*, valued at $7,500. Start MAKING MORE with higher customer satisfaction!
Connect with our Training Director, Anthony Olivieri, on LinkedIn, or contact him directly via email with any questions you have about how a mystery shop plus training can produce high-performing employees who deliver against sales and revenue goals. He can also be reached at 682-206-8528.