It's a very competitive world these days.  Most of the new surveys indicate that the average customer is now only VISITING only 1.4 dealerships before making their decision.

I was in a dealership yesterday and a couple of the sales people were complaining about this and a lot of customers were buying at another dealership.  Managing YOUR activity, including follow up, is more critical than ever before.  Instead of complaining about it, PICK YOURSELF UP AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!   

1) PHYSICALLY WRITE OUT a DAILY ACTION PLAN (the CRM is great but NOTHING takes the place of writing a daily action plan and to-do list.  Include ALL YOUR HOT prospects and a SPECIFIC PLAN OF ACTION for EACH PROSPECT.  Include activity such as YOUR call back time, Does a MANAGER need to call, Do you need to set an APPOINTMENT for a 3rd party or GO SEE THEM (ie wife), Is it a TRADE issue, Is it PRICE, DOWN PAYMENT, PAYMENT, CREDIT- Do you need a co-signer or STIPS package, etc.  If it's a price issue, BE SURE the customer is comparing APPLES to APPLES vehicles and YOU are COMPETING APPLES TO APPLES.  (The customer always says, "I have the EXACT SAME CAR down the street for a cheaper price" and 99.99% of the time, it's NEVER THE SAME VEHICLE and you lose the sale.  (ie, just a radio difference can be $1,000 - $2,000+ these days)

Monitor your activity 3 TIMES A DAY!  Yes, 3 TIMES A DAY!  (ie 10am, 2pm, 6pm)   If you prepare the list at 8am, what's the progress at 10am?  At 2pm, 6 hours have passed (since 8am) have you made any progress?   At 6pm, 10 hours have passed- what's the progress and if none, WHAT'S YOUR ACTION PLAN as time has now reached CRITICAL MASS.

So, if customers have knocked you down, pick yourself up, manage your activity, and you WILL CONTROL YOUR RESULTS and sell more cars!