Best Practices: Sales Management

What does your sales team’s log system look like? Do your sales representatives have a clear-cut, organized schedule to follow every morning when they come into the dealership? Is it set up neatly in an online system where everyone on your team can access it? You can’t begin to imagine how many possible sales you’re missing if this is not the case.

A management tool that allows both manager and sales team members to go through an established process, complete with data that provides useful insight to learn from both failed and successful sales attempts, is beyond best practice. It is a crucial tool for the entire sales team to be active and proficient in using. One thing to keep in mind is that the sales process should be focused on the customer – how you can help to connect them with the unit they want, rather than how they can help you expand your paycheck. Figure out how you can help solve the problem they are having, and make that your habit as a salesman. Once you master that skill you’ll become more successful than ever.

A basic feature that you should look for in any CRM is a dashboard or home base of some sort that shows statistics related to sales team members’ monthly totals, progress with current hot leads, and more. This will help to keep your sales team on the same page so that everyone is operating as effectively as possible. Pending deals and open leads should be clearly marked and assigned to the correct sales reps, as assigned by the manager.

If you’re lucky, the CRM tool you utilize will have data that tracks your lead sources and is able to show you which sources are the most profitable. Also with that lead data, ideally you’ll be able to see the status of your sales pipeline in real-time, allowing everyone on the team to spend their day most efficiently. If results are not lining up with expectations, this kind of visual online scoreboard should help managers identify and resolve any issues affecting sales before unnecessary losses occur.

The lead entry that your sales team members should be required to perform with every sales lead can transform those customer interactions into valuable data for your dealership sales. Managers should be able to track that lead entry information to get a full view of their dealership’s progress in sales performance at any time.

Dealer Spike’s preferred CRM partner, Dealership Performance CRM, has this system down. On top of the basic tools detailed above, this company goes the extra mile with their Industry Game Changer tools. To mention just a few, Smart Merge® is DP CRM’s ability to cross-check vendors and web providers to eliminate duplicate leads and other mistakes in customer follow-up; Smart Feed® utilizes a Quick Response Code Process to track inventory status and close the risk of inaccurate information or too long of a wait time for your customer; and Smart Source® to keep your dealership up to speed with the most accurate information regarding third party lead sources. These features and many more are all ones that either do not exist in competing CRM tools or are dramatically less effective. Dealership Performance CRM also has capability for setting up alert systems for leads and follow-up tasks, email marketing including auto-responders for increased customer engagement, and data mining and analysis.

Taking it a step further, Dealership Performance CRM’s tool is fully responsive, meaning that it is fully operable on a smartphone or tablet. A sales team member can use it while out on the showroom floor with a customer, rather than jotting a note down or trying to simply remember that lead. No sales opportunity is missed because of a busy day or limited access to a computer. Again, this is something that few other CRM tools can provide, and in Dealer Spike’s opinion, DP CRM provides the best system for dealers.

Don’t let sales slip away for lack of a CRM tool that is built well and operates in an advantageous way for your dealership. Visit Dealership Performance CRM’s website at www.dealershipperformancecrm.com or call 800.516.1768 to talk to a sales rep. Tell them Dealer Spike sent you!