Cars, especially when they have been sitting for a while and are parked outside, can surprise you with a dead battery or a tire pressure warning light when you try to start them for the first time. If you have a test drive appointment scheduled, it’s wise to take the car for a short drive beforehand; this will help the brakes loosen up and recharge the battery. Some cars may display a message indicating that the battery voltage is low and that the vehicle needs to be stopped. It’s unfortunate if this happens with the customer behind the wheel.
Always check the fuel level, make sure you can always drive at least 100 to 150 km with the car. If the customer receives a notification while driving that they need to refuel, it's not pleasant. It's often the first thing a customer mentions when they return from the test drive. It's somewhat negative.
For cars that are parked outside, they get dirty after just 2 days, so take the car through the wash an hour before the appointment to ensure it looks fresh. Place the car in a nice prominent spot at the entrance of the showroom so it seems like the car is waiting for the customer, and the customer can walk in with a sense of pride to check in.
It is always advisable to take one of your cars for a spin; you really experience the car in practice and may discover useful features that you can use in your sales conversation. With just a bit of theory about specifications, a technical report, and knowing the car's price, you won't get very far. Additionally, you can have a better conversation with the customer afterward since you both have driven the same car.
Receive the customer like a true host
Greet the customer by their last name, and proudly introduce yourself with a smile.
Offer a cup of coffee and take some time to get to know each other at your desk or more informally at a standing table. Show interest in the broadest sense of the word and especially let the customer speak. Ask good questions.
Then, when the customer is ready, you register all relevant information needed for a test drive registration. It is best to do this digitally via the mobile phone with the PaceX app. This app is GDPR compliant and provides a lot of information that will be useful later.
The start of the test drive
Install the correct green license plates on the car using handy clampspreferably no duct tape, that's just not it. Ask if the customer has experience with a similar car and offer to provide any instructions they might need to make the first few meters. Indicate that the customer can take their time for the ride; you can suggest a route that allows them to drive at around 50 mph or a nice highway route. Also, advise the customer to park somewhere for a moment and take some photos. The more photos they have on their phone, the better.
The end of the test drive
Every half hour, you conveniently receive a push notification on your phone as a seller that the test drive is back, this way you never forget to cancel the test drive and always have a complete start and end record.
The customer drives onto the premises and observe what the customer does, whether the customer walks around the car outside or looks back while walking to the entrance. Upon entering, do not ask or say anything for a moment, in order to hear the customer's first words. If the customer asks a question or gives a response, then ask if the customer would like a cup of coffee and say let's sit down and then we can talk more about the car and start the sales conversation.
A must-have app
Do everything digitally with an app. One of the fun features of the PaceX app is, is that at the moment you close the test drive (reporting within) the customer receives a nice test drive report in the email.
The customer always has something tangible, including the company's logo and the seller's contact information.
We now also provide a connection with as many as 18 software packages so that all data is immediately available for creating a quote, or we collect unique test drive data for your company so that you always know which cars to purchase or when to deploy extra salespeople.
Registering a test drive professionally and in compliance with GDPR, does it also fit your company?