Wednesday, November 28, 2007
When You Think Your Leads Are Terrible, Remember This...
The subprime mortgage crisis effects subprime customers the most! Many of them are "victims" of these subprime mortgage loans and are unsure of what their mortgage payment will be when their rate goes up!
These same people that were banking on the equity in their home continuing to rise and many took out equity lines or second mortgages and now don't have the equity left to support these loans.
The housing market is down, and many of the people who work in it are feeling the pain. The construction worker, carpenter, framer, electrician, plumber, etc. all were riding high when the new housing market was in full swing. Now, many of them, if they are still employed, have gone from 70-80 hour weeks making big overtime to 40 or less hours a week with no overtime. Income is way off, so many of them don't have down payments available.
Remind yourself that now is when you can really shine. Most finance guys would walk away from this market because it's too hard to do the business. Don’t be one of them
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Who’s reading your mail?
Let me start out by explaining something. My home phone number is listed in Directory Assistance under Chooch’s name. If you haven’t figured it out by now, Chooch is my border collie. That’s right…my dog! I do this so, when someone calls my home during dinner and asks to speak to Chooch, I know it’s a telemarketer. So far, Chooch has gotten calls for magazines, insurance and political contributions.
But recently, something new has started to happen. Chooch has been pre-approved for credit cards, real estate auctions and most importantly, she started to receive mailers from auto dealers!
One of the credit mailers Chooch recieved!
So, who’s reading your mail? Do you really know who your mail campaign goes to? Direct mail is not cheap, as we all know, and unless your piece is being opened and read by real consumers who need an auto loan, how effective can it be? In order to maximize the effectiveness of your advertising dollars in today’s market, you need to be sure that your marketing efforts are precise. After all, advertising dollars are limited, and, just like you teach your sales people, you have to sell value in order to sell your product.
Offering easy credit to customer with good credit is like trying to sell a compact to a family with six kids. It might work, but in reality, it’s going to be a hard sell. Make sure that the mailer you buy maximizes its impact on customers who truly need your credit offer. Using blind, targeted mail, with a genuine offer of credit, produces customers who want your help, not the gift or gimmick it offers. After all, how many gifts did your last mailer give out versus the number of cars it sold?
Thursday, September 6, 2007
These Leads Suck!
If you see your leads as too many, you might want to consider how efficiently you are working your leads. Who do you have making your calls? Are they really calling every lead to secure an appointment, or are they rushing through each call without truly committing the customer to that appointment? Are they trying to sell a vehicle to each customer they contact, or are they trying to secure an appointment? If you are handing out leads to your sales force, are you sure that they are making every effort to contact these leads, or are they making just a token effort to appease you?