There is a premise that we always mention in our articles: everything that can be measured can be controlled. There is no successful decision in the dealership (or in any field) that is not based on an analysis of the current situation.
Random decisions may fortuitously give positive results, but they will never be as successful as the well-planned decisions that impact on the present while thinking about the future. That is why the analysis tools offered by any system, whether a DMS or a CRM, are key.
One of the most popular reports offered by a CRM is the Sales Funnel. This tool indicates the number of potential customers that have gone from one stage of the sales process to the next, allowing you to see how many opportunities are lost in each stage, and learn:
- In which stage is a sale more likely to be lost
- Which salespeople close less sales than their colleagues, and in which stages do they need to improve
- There are highly effective stages that can be used to enhance the least effective ones.
- Are we generating enough prospects? Or are we generating more than we can effectively manage?
With this information you can make decisions to improve the sales process and train each salesperson. However, modern CRMs must also provide tools to analyze the performance of marketing channels, i.e. analyze the stage prior to the sales process that generates our prospects.
Lead qualification
Having the most talented sales team does not automatically translate into sales if you do not have a good pool of prospects. You must have a ‘saleable’ base to sell to.
To do this, CRMs include reports to know the path a prospect follows from the moment they are added to the dealer’s database until they become a true sales opportunity. Just as the sales process is analyzed, a Marketing Funnel can be analyzed too, in order to see if:
- Are my marketing strategies aimed at the correct audience?
- Is the type of opportunities we’re generating appropriate to what the dealership offers?
- How many people must I reach through my campaigns to generate enough prospects?
- Should we need to change marketing channels to generate more opportunities?
- Are my sales and marketing teams in aligned?
Analyze two funnels
By analyzing two funnels the dealer can monitor the performance of the Marketing and Sales teams, but can also perform predictive analyses to create medium and long-term scenarios. This will increase sales and also efficiency, and will help us decide where to invest our sales and marketing dollars.
