HOW TO BREAK THE ICE WHEN CALLING NEGLECTED CUSTOMERS

START MENDING RELATIONS WITH NEGLECTED CUSTOMERS

Are you missing out on those prime repeat and referral customers because you don’t know what to say? Maybe it’s been 12, 18 or even 24 months since you last spoke to them. It’s time to get back on the phone!

This is one of my favorite calls because this is a situation I struggled with myself when I sold cars. I really wanted to follow up with my customers and knew if I did it effectively then it would lend itself to a lot more repeat and referral business. I would tend to lean towards calling the people I had the most fun with or became good friends with. People that I didn’t need any script – we just talked and had fun on the call – they were easy to talk to. But every time I went through customer records there would always be a whole bunch of people that I didn’t know what to say to them. I would push them off to the side again and again and all of a sudden it’s been two years since I have last spoken with them.

Now how many of you are dealing with this same problem when going through your CRM tasks? It’s okay lets solve that problem right now. This is call for the customers you have neglected in your follow-up. You would ruin the call by coming out of the gate with the reason for your call being, for example, a big sale/rebates/would you consider trading, and so on. It would be like saying, “We haven’t cared about you since we’ve cashed your check. But now that I desperately need a sale, I thought I’d call you.” THINK LIKE A SALESPERSON, JUST DON’T SOUND LIKE ONE!

TRY THIS PHONE SCRIPT

“Hello, Bill. Did I get you at a bad time? This is Tom Stuker from ABC Motors.” Notice I didn’t say Mr. Johnson or Mr. Smith because that’s almost too business like. When someone calls you at home and says hey Jimmy is this Tom is this Nancy. You’re not caught off guard and you feel like it is a more casual conversation. When they formally ask for you by last name, you know somebody is trying to sell something to you. “Bill The reason I’m calling is to apologize – not for something I’ve done, but rather for something I haven’t done! You see, when I helped you with the selection of your truck, I probably told you then that I would be following up with you from time to time to make sure we keep you happy. It has come to my attention that it’s been quite a while since I spoke to you last.

As a professional, I feel I haven’t followed up with you as I should, and for that I’d like to apologize.” (pause) Some people even laugh at the idea that your calling to apologize – and you’re probably talking to a person that has bought 3 or 4 cars from somebody and never had a salesperson follow up, let alone apologize for not doing so. I’ve never had one person that says you do owe me an apology. Nobody has ever done that and nobody ever will. The responses you get are so positive. “Do you still have the truck I helped you out with?” Get into a quality conversation and find out “How many drivers are in the household?” “Who drives what?” “And who’s most likely to be in the market next?” Maximize the best opportunity available to you right now. Try to set an appointment if appropriate, but at a minimum you continue the conversation by giving them a little more love and attention – maybe a little small talk – remind them how important their business is to you.