TireConnect is a powerful digital solution that...
- Empowers dealers to capture leads (quotes) and sell tires online
- Quote tires in-store
- Generate qualified leads
TireConnect however requires a human element to manage and convert those leads into actual sales. To ensure that you’re maximizing the potential of your TireConnect account, it is imperative that you put in place the appropriate office procedures to handle leads and orders in an efficient manner. It’s important to remember that leads generated by TireConnect are exceptionally well qualified. Your customer has already been quoted a tire price and has taken the additional step of requesting a follow up from you. When they are contacted by a qualified tire professional in a timely manner, these leads have proven to come with an exceptional conversion rate.
If you’re a large tire dealer with multiple locations, a warehouse and head office, the details of your processes are going to differ from those of a single location shop. Regardless, the basic minimum list of things that needs to occur will remain the same.
Email Notifications
TireConnect leads and order notifications will arrive via email. By default these notifications will be sent to the main contact email we have on file for your business. However that may not be the most appropriate for many of you. Using the TireConnect Administrator Website you were introduced to during your initial training, it’s possible to setup additional notification emails, depending on your exact needs.The notification system is very flexible in how it allows you to configure your notifications. At the most basic, it allows you to simply include additional email addresses for all notifications. However you also have the option of specifying emails specific to individual dealer locations instead of sending to a simple global list. If you need help configuring more detailed notifications for individual dealers, please contact us at support@tireconnect.ca.
Lead Handling
The TireConnect platform captures qualified leads in a number of ways, including; follow-up requests, click to call, and appointments. Regardless of how the lead was captured, the most important factor affecting whether or not you will convert it, is how quickly you are able to follow up with the customer. At a minimum all leads should be followed up within 24 hours, however if you can do it faster you’ll likely improve your conversion rate even more!
The first process you need to setup is to decide who in your business will be responsible for managing the leads you’ll be receiving. This could be a single individual or a team of people depending on the size of your shop and the volume of leads that you expect to receive. Additionally, you should decide and agree upon a routine schedule for following up on leads. This could be once a day or hourly, depending on your individual business needs.
The Follow Up Call
When you follow up with a lead, several items should always be verified, including the customer details, vehicle specifications, tire size and a review of the quote details. This is also an excellent time to upsell the client on additional products and services and to book their installation appointment. Also, if needed, don’t forget to order the tires!
Update Lead (Quote) Status
The last thing you need to do is to update the status for the lead as “Followed Up” so that you or somebody else doesn’t call them again by accident. Some email clients such as Outlook provide a few ways that you can mark emails with notes that will allow you to do this. Perhaps the easiest is to have a set of folders in your email client for new, contacted and completed leads.
The leads report on your TireConnect Administrator Website also provides functionality for tracking contacted leads. Simply login to the TireConnect backend, click Reports item in the vertical grey menu and select Leads. On the Leads Report page, find the lead in question and on it’s details page click on the “Contacted” checkbox at the bottom of the page.
Order Handling
It’s just as important to manage orders in as timely a manner as you do leads. Remember that with orders your customer has already paid a deposit on their tires (assumes you have e-commerce enabled), but you may still have to order the tires if you don’t already have them in-stock. A delay in following up with an order will result in a delay in ordering tires. When following up with a customer regarding an order, remember to review the order details including vehicle type/year, tire size(s), quantity, etc. Also remember to book an installation appointment with the customer and to upsell them on additional products and services.
Order Reporting
Just like we updated the lead status above, you need to update the order status. You can use the same email technique mentioned above. Likewise, the TireConnect Administrator Website allows you to manage order statuses using the Order Report.
Wrapping it Up
That’s pretty much it for TireConnect Standard Operating Procedures. They’re not complicated. But they are essential. One last recommendation we’ll make is to suggest that you review the procedures periodically. If you’re finding your conversion rates aren’t as high as you feel they should be, take a look at how you’re handling them. Do you have the right person doing the follow up? Are you confirming quote details properly? Perhaps things could be done quicker…?
We provide a useful SOP document here, that is intended to be printed out and posted for those involved in the day-to-day management of leads. Check it out!