Road to Acquisition

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What is Active Prospecting?

Proactive contacting of prospects to turn them into customers

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Don’t wait for customers in the showroom — go out and get them

Don’t be afraid — the three-pointed star opens doors for you

Don’t wait for referrals — ask for them from your customers

Know your market — locate and connect with successful local businessmen

Open your eyes — join local clubs and events to find new customers

Leave your mark — hand over brochures and your name card during each visit

Never let go — always follow up on acquisition activities

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“Every journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”

Your name

Your dealership

2 Why Active Prospecting?

Remember, not everyone knows Mercedes-Benz,your dealership and you

Focus on the right target group — segmentation increases your chance to close a deal

Cold calls and cold visits — it’s difficult, but rewarding

Direct mailings — very effective if executed correctly

Referrals — ask loyal customers to refer friends, colleagues, etc to you

After sales customers — tap into your dealership’s goldmine

Conquest and social network — stir up interest in Mercedes-Benz (in everyone and everywhere)

Marketing activities — get noticed in your market

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How to do Active Prospecting?

All paths lead to potential customers — the right mix is the key to success

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Referrals

Cold visits

Marketing

Coldcalls

Social network

Directmailings

Conquest

After sales

Customers do not come to Mercedes-Benz “voluntarily” — go out and get them

Customers become increasingly informed and sophisticated

Customers do have alternatives and they don’t hesitate to choose other brands

Mercedes-Benz faces fierce competition

There is untapped potential in every area

In a nutshell: active prospecting helps to pull potential customers to your dealership, i.e. increase showroom traffic

Customer segmentation

Classification of customers increases your success rate

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By product type: e.g. S-class, E-class

By demographics: e.g. age, gender, income level, education, marital status, profession

By psychographics: e.g. hobbies, life-style, interests

By geography: e.g. rural vs. urban area

By behavioral: e.g. re-purchase cycle (every x years)

By importance: e.g. customer life-time value, value of transactions, loyal customers

By vehicle ownership: e.g. current vehicle older than x years

Who is my target group?

Customer segmentation increases your chance to close a deal

Collect and capture customer data continuously and comprehensively

Identify prospect’s unique needs, preferences and requirements

Classify customers according to segmentation criteria

Identify market segments with highest sales potential

In a nutshell: segmentation enables targeted active prospecting and efficient use of resources

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6 7Key success factors

90% of success is based on preparation

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What to achieve by when? — Set clear and realistic objectives

Who to contact when and why? — Determine priorities

When to do showroom and outside appointments? — Plan your day accordingly

What contacts have I had with the prospect? — Know your prospect

How to structure calls and visits? — Structure your calls and visits

Prepare yourself for the prospect (contact history, documents, etc)

In a nutshell: be prepared, enthusiastic, and goal-oriented

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After sales customers are a goldmine to capture new sales customers

Coordinate customer data with your service department — go out and capture all after sales customers

Prioritize your after sales customers through segmentation — e.g. current vehicle older than x years

Establish a first contact — introduce yourself to after sales customers

Manage them — to ensure they buy from you

And remember: follow-up existing sales customers so they also buy from you again!

After sales customers

Tap into your dealership’s goldmine

8There is no second chance to make a first impression

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Structure your call (how to initiate, maintain, and end calls?)

Introduce yourself professionally with “Mercedes-Benz LOCATION. Good day! My name is …”

Give a reason for your call and be prepared to answer “What’s this all about?”

Clarify key questions (find as much information about your prospect as possible)

Professional ending (sum up agreements, secure follow-up contact, offer prospect to call back)

Thank prospect for speaking to you

Document the call upon completion (summary, findings, next contact)

Cold calls are difficult but rewarding

Those who forget to prepare are prepared to be forgotten

Set clear and realistic goals, e.g. invitation to dealership — no one sells a car during the first call

Tidy up your workplace and have note paper ready — a clean start for a promising deal

Avoid any background noises — the basis for an effective call

Determine right time to make your call — not all times are equally effective

Get into a positive mood — people “see” if you smile on the phone

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Mercedes-Benz LOCATION.

Good day! My name is …

Professional telephone manner

Avoid the following words and phrases…

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Fillers (er, um, you know)

Qualifiers (actually, perhaps, maybe, sometimes)

Repetition (repeating what has been said)

Conditionals (could, would)

Negative words (unfortunately, never, not, cheap, bad, difficult)

Suppositions (I’m sure you are aware that…, I bet you…)

Set phrases (may I ask, to be honest)

Condescending phrases (now then, now you listen to me)

Inferences (I think, I believe)

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er, um, you know, actually,

perhaps, maybe, could, would, unfortunately, never,

not, cheap, bad, difficult, sometimes, I’m sure you are aware that…, I bet you…,

may I ask, to be honest, I think, I believe

Linguistics

Treat every call as if it’s your only one

Listen actively by re-confirming what the prospect says

Speak slowly and briefly pause between sentences

Ask only one question at a time

Pause after every question to prompt answers

Address prospect by name

Avoid fillers, conditionals, repetitions, etc

Get to know the customer (e.g. hobbies, interests, etc)

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Cold visits

The three-pointed star opens doors to new customers

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Find potential customers in your area (individuals/companies) via the internet, newspaper, etc

Make yourself familiar with the potential customer (address, contact person, current business, etc)

Set clear and realistic goals for the visit, e.g. invitation to the showroom

Reinforce positive contact with a speedy follow-up, e.g. a face-to-face appointment in the showroom within one week

In a nutshell: prepare thoroughly for the cold visit and follow-up activities

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Introduce yourself professionally with “Mercedes-Benz LOCATION. Good day! My name is …”

Enquire if contact is willing to discuss matters at hand — only continue in light of confirmation

Identify prospect’s needs and offer tailored benefits

Wrap up the visit professionally (sum up agreements and next steps, leave name card and brochures)

In a nutshell: be a professional Mercedes-Benz brand advocate

13 Ask for referrals

Loyal customers will help you grow your prospect base

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Loyal customers can bring you new customers — so ask for referrals

Loyal customers may become your brand advocate — ask them to promote you

Thank your customers for each referral and keep them up-to-date

Treat every referral as a potential customer

In a nutshell: keep your customers happy and loyal and they will expand your business

12 Direct mailings

Don’t send it if it is not personal or relevant

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Make it personal and relevant to the customer

Secure interest with an appealing beginning and highlight key messages

Attach response cards to facilitate interaction

Include “Call for action/I will contact you…” to indicate follow-up activity

Keep in mind the best days to mail

Reinforce positive contact with a follow-up, e.g. an appointment in the showroom within one week

Invitation

Invita

tion

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All employees’ network has potential customers

Advocate Mercedes-Benz and your dealership at every opportunity

Stir up interest in Mercedes-Benz — in everyone and everywhere

Join local clubs and events — there are always occasions to meet prospects

If prospects show interest, gently push for a face-to-face appointment in the showroom

Offer your social network to contact you at any time

In a nutshell: be a Mercedes-Benz brand advocate – everywhere and anytime

Social network

Bring the “Star” out to the field15Conquest

Induce competitors’ customers to buy Mercedes-Benz

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Locate competitor’s customers — e.g. during events or external data bases

Know our products and know the competitors’ products — then advocate our advantages to prospects

Highlight the presence of your dealership — not everyone knows about you

Proactively contact prospects — cold calls and visits are a perfect start

Secure face-to-face appointments in the showroom — the ideal place to present Mercedes-Benz

Don’t be afraid of objections — you are trained to overcome them

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Know your area (affluent residential neighborhoods, promising companies, etc)

Identify potential customers (individuals, companies, fleet, etc)

Keep yourself up-to-date with your area (newspapers, magazines, internet, etc)

Manage your area (schedule cold visits, customer visits, courtesy visits, etc)

Always aim to secure a face-to-face appointment in the showroom

Continuously show presence and care about your prospects and customers in your area

Area sales person

Your area is your business, so manage it well

16 Marketing activities

Acquiring customers directly and out of the crowd

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Highlight presence of your dealership — at events, advertising, direct mailings

Advertise in local media — newspaper, radio

Arrange special events at the dealership — sneak previews for new products

Execute acquisition strategies — cold calls, direct mailings, cold visits

Sponsor events — concerts, golf tournaments

Utilize local VIPs and opinion leaders — to raise the profile of your dealership

In a nutshell: marketing activities increase showroom traffic in many ways

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Give your prospects the feeling that you really care about them — at all times

Show them you are not just selling a car

Become your prospect’s best friend — together with your service colleagues

Ideal follow-up activities after establishing contact — one week after initial contact

Always deliver on your promises — commitment is binding in the long run

Always exceed your customer’s expectations with surprising gestures

Be there for them — always

Follow-up all your prospects, regularly

Match your prospect management with the first-class products you sell

18 Closing on prospects

Signing of the contract — the beginning of a life-long relationship

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Personally intensify the relationship over time — and the next decision is in favor of Mercedes-Benz

Propose concrete offers and solutions to your prospect’s individual needs

Let the customer feel like the vehicle’s owner and then gently push to close the deal

Never let customers leave without asking whether he wants to buy the car (“Would you like me to reserve it for you?”)

After signing the contract, always re-enforce your customer’s decision as a wise choice

Remember: “No” means “Not yet” — keep up the spirits and provide more benefits

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21 Always remember

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The definition of ‘to sell’ is:

To establish faith, confidence and belief in the value of Mercedes-Benz vehicles

Sales people think price is the most important factor in a sale….

Customers say it is the salesperson

Never look for excuses — it’s up to you

20 Planning/Controlling/Evaluation��Successful acquisition can be managed by thorough planning, monitoring, and evaluation of activities:

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Number of calls�Number of visits�Number of follow-up activities�Lost sales analysis�Closing rate on acquisition�Number of showroom visits�Number of test drive conversions�Number of sales conversions�Cost-benefit analysis of activities

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Remember:

Dissatisfied customers never buy again and will tell 10 friends about their bad experience

Satisfied customers may buy again and will tell only few friends about their good experience

Loyal customers always buy again and will praise you and the brand to all of their friends

Being with your customer means being with success

Customer relationship management

You can make the difference between customers and loyal customers

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