Every sales person I have ever met is always looking for referrals. Referrals tend to come with a level of built-in trust, which especially in the auto industry, can make it much easier for you to sell them their next car. The struggle comes in knowing how to get your existing customers and salespeople (referral sources) to recognize potential referrals.
When most people ask for a referral, it’s a straight forward question like “Do you know anyone who might be in the market for a new car?” When asking your customers this question, try tweaking it a bit so that it provides a solution to a problem your future customers may have. This can increase the number of referrals your dealership gets, simply by helping your existing customers really think about the people they know who might need a new car.
For example, try asking your happy customers questions that address the reasons people purchase cars.
- “Do you know anyone who has an unreliable car?”
- “Can you think of anyone who needs to replace their existing car (accident, stolen, etc)?”
- “Has anyone in your life received a promotion or had a baby?”
Another way to make this mindset work to increase dealership sales is to remind the salespeople you work with to listen for these key phrases in their daily life. Expanding the view of the “I need a new car” that some salespeople may be listening for can help increase your dealership sales.
Referrals can come from a variety of sources, and helping your referral sources (customers, salespeople) recognize these key phrases can do wonders for your auto dealership’s bottom line.
All good thoughts! Thanks!