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The Automotive Software                                                                             Jan 12th, 2021 Article

The Follow-Up Process That Only Top Performing Dealerships Are Doing Regularly...

and how you can start doing it today...

By Philip Cheatham Jan 12th, 2021

       What I am about to share with you, will boost your closing ratio of your sit downs instantly and noticeably. As of this writing, very few dealerships are utilizing this process. It is not a coincidence that they are all top performing stores and or stores that have recently started growing their business at an exponential rate. There are only a few things that I would implement before this process and only one thing you must do to make this process possible. This process is simple. This process does not require a lot of time or a lot of talent. This process is called the U-Turn call.
        The U-Turn Call is not a normal follow-up call. In fact, the U-Turn call isn't a follow-up call. The U-Turn call is a survey call. 

The reasons you cannot call the 3rd party calls being made to your customer U-Turn Calls are:
  • Time: A U-Turn call is called a U-Turn call, because it is made within a time frame where your customer can make a U-Turn and come back to the dealership.
  • Who is called: U-Turn Calls are only U-Turn calls if they are made to your customers that looked at numbers and didn't buy, and within a time frame your customer can make that U-Turn. 
          A 3rd party however CAN make your U-Turn calls, because a real U-Turn call is made by an uninvolved party to the deal. Meaning somebody that did not meet the customer. This is important because, the trick that's involved with this call won't work if it's made by somebody the customer met in the store.

This is the script I use that I have found works the best:

1.) "Hello, this is Philip Cheatham from Mt. Everest Bugatti, I saw that you made a visit to our dealership today and I just wanted to make sure my team was kind & courteous, how was your visit?"

2.) Shut up and let the customer talk until they finish.
      A.) Some will talk a lot, some will talk a little here.

3.) Either way, next you ask: "Were you able to get in a car/on a bike today?"
      A.) You say this, knowing they were not. The only customers you can make a U-Turn call to, did not leave with a vehicle. They looked at numbers and left. You didn't make the deal. 

4.) Shut up and let the customer talk until they finish.
       A.) Again, some will talk a lot, some will talk a little. 

5.) At this point you will find out 1 of 3 things:
  • You knew exactly where you were in this deal: The customer gives the person making the U-Turn call, the same information they gave you as to why they did not buy. This happens 50-85% of the time, depending on your dealerships push to make every deal. 
  • You knew where you were but gained more information: This happens 10-45% of the time. The customer was being mostly honest as to why they didn't buy today in our showroom but give your U-Turn caller more pertinent info to aid you in making this deal. 
  • You find out you had no idea where you were on this deal: No matter how good you, your management and your team is, this will happen 10-15% of the time. It's not you, your dealership or your team. It's a personality type. The super passive personality seeks to avoid any and all confrontation. You pick up deals from this personality type after they visit other dealerships and leave to avoid confrontation. They walk in and say something like "I was at Mt. Kilimanjaro Bugatti and they wouldn't let me buy a used one..." We get excited to hear this and rarely investigate what happened at the other dealer. We jump into taking full advantage of the gift from the other dealership. What happened at the other dealer is happening at your dealership, if you doing any amount of different things RIGHT. The dealer this customer came from, tried to move the customer from new to used. They probably didn't receive any pushback. The customer went along and made up a totally different reason to leave, in an effort to avoid confrontation. The other dealer thinks this customer has to look at another car or whatever lie they made up to leave their showroom. This personality type, your customer represents 10-15% of your customers. Do we stop trying to move customers? Of course not. This personality type will do this over something as silly as asking to switch wheels from one car to another and being told "let me ask," and never getting response. They are so passive, they don't want to ask again if they felt any type of annoyance from your salesperson to the question. They go to the next dealer, walk in and tell them what you did wrong. They never told you. If you can manage to call this customer, using somebody uninvolved in the deal, within 15 minutes of them leaving, using the script above, they will tell you "I tried to buy the used car and they wouldn't let me." 
Your CRM will NOT allow you to make all of this happen quickly enough to be effective. This process is seamlessly implemented, monitored and back-stopped using the Daily Desk available at www.centraldesking.com. We have tutorials inside our software to show you exactly how to implement this process. 

I gave you the exact script I use. I gave you the entirety of the process. Unfortunately this process will not stick and really isn't possible using any of the available CRM's on the market for dealerships or otherwise. The main reason is the long 3 minute plus update speeds. 

You need an active Desk-Log to make this process work. There isn't any other way to make sure not only does the call happen but that you have the relevant information quickly enough from the 3rd party given to the Manager of the deal that just left. You need the notes on this specific call next to your Sales Managers notes as to why they let this customer go for your Make-A-Deal Meeting. Even knowing we knew exactly where were at on this deal IS extra information. It's confidence in knowing that you aren't missing anything. This makes taking action easier. The deals you get extra info on are even better. The deals you make with the passive personality types are wins you would've never had without the U-Turn call. If you allow this passive personality too much time to think. You will call them after they already set an appointment at another dealer or even just found another car online. They will lie to you. You must make these calls very quickly to be effective. I have found 10-20 minutes after they leave to be the most effective. You will catch them eating close by or still on the way home. The main reason this call works is because they haven't had enough time to make a new plan. YOU still have this customer in your grasp. It's obvious what to do once your U-Turn caller finds one of these customers. Your Sales Manager calls them immediately and says "I apologize, please come back and I'll make sure you are VIP to get into the Business Office and we will get the car ready for you that you wanted immediately."  They will come back almost 100% of the time. Remember they just want to avoid confrontation. A new dealership means more potential confrontation. You identified this customer now, tell them you will help them have no confrontation and get what they want. 

Now you know,

Philip Cheatham

Take action and get started making U-Turn Calls immediately at:  



Listen to the audiobook chapter on U-Turn Calls from my book: Dealership Process Secrets below:

Chapter: Tsunami

Listen to the entire audiobook FOR FREE here.

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