My car dealer is adept at following up my service visit, but they do it in a smart way rather than just the usual “how are you?” or “Just following up”.
They do a comprehensive visual check on the car and any future works needed are logged on their computer and someone from marketing phones or emails me to see if I want the work done. This call could be 4 months later when they have estimated my brake pads need replacing, or 3 months later when my cambelt is due.
In the same way, we can become smart at following up our customers, rather than using the lame, “just thought I’d phone to see how you are”.
So during your meeting with your customer, look for opportunities to follow up during the conversation and confirm you will. You could look out for opportunities to:
- Send on a referral
- Send a book
- Provide some advice
- Email an article or blog post
- Send a web link
Whatever that crops up during the discussion. The trick is to deliberately look for these opportunities to make further contact. To look for the Velcro that you can use to link all your calls and all steps on your sales process.
But I have to say I dread receiving calls from the garage, as it always means I have to spend some money on the car. One day they’ll invent a car that never needs maintenance – but not in my lifetime.
