High income car sales people know that consistent value added contact results in higher commissions. Joe Girard, listed as the greatest salesman in the world by Guinness World Records, proposed a rule suggesting each person you meet knows approximately 250 other people. Translation, each time you sell a car, if managed properly, you will have access to the roughly 250 people your new customer knows. You will have access, that is, if you farm the opportunity.
Joe Verde, trainer, coach, and mentor, states that every one of your sold customers knows someone who will be purchasing a vehicle in the next ninety days. Translation, if you had a hundred sold customers, that would be a hundred opportunities over the next 90 days. Imagine if you had a thousand customers!
Unfortunately, the majority of car sales people miss these opportunities. First, most fail to train their customers to contact them when they hear someone is in the market for a vehicle. Second, they fail to keep their name fresh in their customer’s mind.
Business thank you cards, followed by a regularly scheduled sequence of business greeting cards, is a strength of auto and RV sales professionals. It is essential to note that true sales professionals rarely use electronic greeting cards. E-cards often end up in the receiver’s spam folder. And, unlike paper greeting cards, E-cards fail to demonstrate any sincere time investment in their creation.
How should a business thank you card be created?
1. It must be a paper card,
2. It must include a personal note from the sender,
3. It should be posted with a real stamp,
4. Proper etiquette for a business thank you card is to show you are sincere,
5. Do not sell in a business thank you card. Saying thank you, or happy birthday, or Merry Christmas, and asking for a referral is poor taste.
Cultivating repeat customers, and their referrals, is a process that starts right at time of delivery. While doing the orientation, make it a point to explain to your new customer that as a commission sales professional referrals are important. Ask them to call you each time they hear someone mention about purchasing a vehicle. Be sure to give them several business cards and hint that you will be following up from time-to-time, especially on special occasions. That clears the way for your business thank you cards.
Bob Burg, in his book Endless Referrals, wrote “The pros, the champions, the ones who are determined to succeed, do the little things right consistently.” He emphasizes that personal notes, like business thank you cards, are a way of establishing yourself and your credibility.
Similarly, David Fry, author of the Small Business Marketing Bible, describes a system for getting more referrals using a hands free follow up process. What is important is that he demonstrates how it engenders a deep relationship with customers. The nugget is that the system requires very little effort. Write me for a link. Take a few minutes and see just how important regular follow up is to your business growth and income.
Remember: Nothing happens until someone sells something.
Sales Champions Make It Happen!
