The acquisition of a new dealership represents a substantial opportunity and endeavor that is steadily becoming more and more popular in the automotive industry. Therefore, as a growing dealership group, it's crucial to take necessary actions to ensure the success of your newly acquired locations. One of the most important steps in acquiring a new dealership is ensuring your newly acquired store prioritizes outbound phone calls.
By prioritizing outbound calling efforts and holding all of your locations accountable to consistent benchmarks, you are ensuring that your new store is in line with your strategic objectives. Outbound calling is proven to be one of the most effective ways to recapture what may have otherwise been missed opportunities, uncover lost revenue, and increase appointments scheduled. However, it is not only important to make outbound calls, but you should also ensure you are actually connecting these calls to the intended party.
A connected call is different than an answered call. A connected call means that the agent was able to get ear-to-ear with the intended customer. An answered call occurs any time a call was picked up — whether the customer picks up or their voicemail.
Car Wars' experts found that the average call connection rate for true outbound cold calls to customers with no previous documented history with a given dealership is just 15.8%. In contrast, reaching out to customers who have called a dealership within the past three years yields a significantly higher outbound call connection rate of 37.4%. Even more promising is the average connection rate of 48.5% when making outbound calls to customers classified as missed opportunities within one week of their initial call.
4 reasons to prioritize call connection on your outbound calls:
Reaching out to customers who have previously contacted your dealership sends a clear message: you value their business. This approach can foster customer loyalty and keep them coming back.
Higher connection rates mean a greater chance of converting these leads into actual sales. That's a win for both the dealership and the customer.
Instead of scattering efforts on cold leads, focusing on warm prospects increases the efficiency of your sales and marketing teams. You're targeting individuals already interested in your services.
The outbound call connection statistics mentioned above also highlight the importance of tracking customer interactions and understanding their behaviors. This data can help refine your strategies and adapt to changing customer needs.
Reaching out to customers who have previously connected with your dealership or following up promptly with missed opportunities can make a world of difference. It's a testament to the power of prior engagement, and it's a strategy that forward-thinking dealerships should embrace to maximize connections, conversions, and ultimately, overall success. To ensure you don't miss important steps in your dealership acquisition process, make sure you are taking the necessary steps to implement proper outbound calling tactics at your newly acquired store.
To learn more about the essential steps to take when acquiring a new dealership, check out our 5 Steps to Navigate a Seamless Dealership Acquisition, HERE.