As the industry starts to find its feet in the new reality of automotive retailing, it’s probably safe to say that video will have a more prominent role than before Covid.
And why wouldn’t it? It’s the perfect complement to the distance sale and has the ability to provide an informative and engaging tour of the vehicle.
However, a word of warning…
Video has the ability to become a highly beneficial business tool that facilitates sales and increase profitability, however, it also has the ability to cost sales, negatively impact reputation, destroy sales executive efficiency and become a malaise within the sales department.
So, how can you ensure it is being used wisely to drive sales?
Since we started training car sales executives to incorporate video into their sales process using the eDynamix Video1st platform 5 years ago, we have identified 8 unwitting mistakes that are common with teams that have received no formal training.
The first 4 are outlined below and the next 4 will be disclosed in the next edition of Legal Updates:
Unwitting Mistake 1: The Videos Are Seen Simply As Videos
Referring to the footage produced as a video doesn’t do the value of the footage justice. Technically, they are videos, however, from a sales and marketing perspective, they are commercials of your business.
Like any commercial, they have the potential to build trust, confidence, value and ultimately sufficient dopamine for the prospect to either turn up for their appointment or buy the car from the comfort of their home or office.
A simple change in language has the ability to create justified focus on the important work that is to follow.
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Unwitting Mistake 2: The ‘Confetti Effect’
On the basis that sales team efficiency and enquiry conversion are key to dealerships, be mindful of the fact that videos can hinder and possibly lose a sale.
You see, if a salesperson is talking to a prospect who knows exactly what new car they want and which offer they are going utilise to fund their purchase i.e. they are transaction ready, why do they need a video?
The prospect was actually calling to establish trust, confidence, a relationship with the retailer and have a couple of questions answered before they left the intended deposit. However, the salesperson offers a video (as they do to every enquiry in an almost confetti like approach) which the prospect accepts, however, are unsure why it has been offered.
Now, the potential sale has been stalled and the prospect is quickly gravitating towards the ‘maybe-zone’ of the dealership rather than the sold area.
We all know the likely outcome during the downtime. Another hour older, another hour colder.
In summary, be selective with who you offer a video to. Be sure to use them to move sales forward with prospects that will benefit from them.
Unwitting Mistake 3: Lack of Personalisation
In a world where creating emotional desire to purchase is significantly important, personalisation is king. However, if the salesperson doesn’t appreciate how the inbound telephone enquiry feeds the creation of an engaging and inspirational commercial (through it’s personalisation), the likely outcome is a generic commercial that does little to motivate the prospect to buy.
Only when the personal needs and wants of the prospect have been understood and prioritised can a personalised commercial be filmed.
So, specific questions during the discovery stage of the inbound telephone enquiry are crucial and have the ability to feed a personalised commercial which in turn, has the ability to deliver a profitable sale.
Unwitting Mistake 4: No Salting
You can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. True?
Well, that depends on how much salt you put in the horse’s oats before you take it to the water.
What’s that got to do with selling cars by video?
One of the most important stages of the commercial is the call to action which typically appears towards the end. Therefore, in order to maximise the number of prospects that listen to the call to action, it’s important during the beginning of the video to reference that key information will be shared towards the end.
A clear and relevant call to action (which may differ, depending on what you are trying to achieve with the commercial) will motivate the prospect to take the proposed next steps.
We will be covering the call to action in ‘Selling Cars by Video Part 2’ within the next Legal Update.
If you are a business owner or senior executive and would like to schedule a 10 minute discovery call to discuss the topic in greater detail, click on the calendar below:
In the meantime, if you are looking to introduce the required technology to produce industry leading commercials, our recommendation is the tried, tested and proven eDynamix Video1st platform.
They offer a free trial for new customers and free usage during the remainder of your contract if you are currently contracted to an alternative supplier.
“Since embarking on the use of Video1st, in both our workshops and sales environments, it became apparent that we needed to train everyone in how to get the best out of the new system, to give us a competitive edge against our competition and give confidence to the people creating the videos.
I have to say the quality of the training provided by Profit Box was excellent and the feedback from all who attended was extremely positive. The course material was spot on and tailored to our specific requirements in all aspects, since the training the improvement in quality of videos being produced has been remarkable.”
Sean Booth, Managing Director, Parkway Volkswagen
