Modern automotive buyers are more informed than ever. As a result, dealership response time and how salespeople interact with buyers has never been more crucial. In turn, dealership secret shopping has become a necessity for dealerships looking to stand at the forefront of their market.

With access to hundreds of dealerships at their fingertips, today’s consumer always has choices. Therefore, the way in which your salespeople respond to potential buyers greatly changes the success and profitability of your dealership. 

This is where dealership secret shopping comes into play. The automotive industry, much like other industries, prospers when customer service comes first. Secret shopping helps ensure that your dealership gets to buyers first and in the right manner.

So, is dealership secret shopping essential? We think yes! Let’s take a look at the top 3 reasons why dealership secret shopping helps your team perform better and stay in the process.

Response Time - Get There First

Studies by Inside Sales have shown the importance of response time. This study states that you are 100 times more likely to get the buyer on the phone if you dial them in the first 5 minutes, as opposed to 30 minutes.

However, in the past 12 months, we secret shopped over 25,000 dealerships in America. As a result, we found that the average response time for calls is a shocking 2 hours and 26 minutes!

Time kills deals! Secret shopping helps give dealerships valuable insights into their response times. Additionally, dealerships can cross-reference this data with direct competitors as well as over 20,000 dealerships in America.

Secret Shopping: Quality Customer Interaction

Speed and quality are the name of the game! Contacting buyers within the first 5-minutes means skyrocketed success at getting in communication with customers. Yet, once you have the buyer’s attention, you need to engage them.

Therefore, attitude is everything! Oftentimes, dealership salespeople will unknowingly sound like call center workers who make the same call 1,000 times a day. This can be a huge turnoff for buyers. Regardless of the medium, a good attitude makes buyers want to do business with you. This includes voicemails:

Furthermore, the speed at which salespeople get buyers quality information is critical. Remember, today’s buyers are educated. As such, failure to give modern buyers information is a common deal killer.

Secret shopping gives dealerships the ability to check phone, email, and SMS responses. This creates a working environment of accountability and teamwork. Examining competitor’s and in-house responses offers the chance to analyze and improve best practices.

Secret Shopping Dealership Sales Processes

A dealership’s sales process is designed to boost success. When working with buyers who aren’t at the dealership, the goal is always to set the appointment and bring the buyer in.

Nevertheless, our secret shopping of over 25,000 dealerships has found some surprising data. A majority of salespeople do not go for the appointment! Moreover, salespeople will often let simple issues get in the way of bringing buyers in.

For example, a call on a car that’s no longer in stock frequently causes the untimely death of a car sale. Yet, that doesn’t need to be the case. A lot of salespeople miss the chance to first expand their inventory, then go for the appointment.

This is why call guides should always be used to guarantee salespeople always stay on target. If your dealership doesn’t currently have call guides, click here to get Webinarinc’s 30+ free call guides!

 Dealership secret shopping allows for accountability in sales processes over the phone, email, and SMS. Additionally, dealership secret shopping lets your team examine what does and doesn’t work.

People also clean up when they know they’re being watched. In other words, salespeople will stick to their processes more when they know they might be on the line with a secret shopper.

Beat the competition with the most powerful phone & internet secret shopping in the automotive marketplace!

Webinarinc’s premier secret shopping provides an in-depth look into how your dealership compares to the competition. Gain the valuable insights needed to improve your BDC team and salespeople tenfold while gaining an advantage over the competition.

For a FREE 7-day trial of the most innovative dealership secret shopping available, click here! Alternatively, call one of our attentive staff at (888) 603-4443 for a no-obligation 7-day FREE trial.