Email is essential when it comes to conversions. To take advantage of the leads that are generated by your marketing efforts, you’ll need to follow-up through email.
If you don’t reach out, follow up, and nurture your sales-qualified leads, your conversions will suffer and you’ll be leaving car deals on the table.
Follow-up emails should vary depending on what they’re for, but every email has the same end goal: Getting your prospects to convert.
With conversions in mind, there are a few essential elements that every follow up email should have – no matter the reason for following up. These elements are:
- A subject line
- An intro or recap (when applicable)
- A pivot
- An authority builder
- A core benefit
- A CTA
- A p.s. statement (when applicable)
1. The Subject Line
Your subject line has one goal – attract attention! You can do this many different ways, but we suggest you use one of these tactics:
- Build curiosity by alluding to information (often called blind wonder)
- Ex: “Kind of unusual, but VERY worthwhile”
- Use scarcity or urgency
- Ex: “Model Clearance Savings Event ends at Midnight”
- Be direct and speak to a benefit
- Ex: “Upgrade your vehicle, lower your payment, no money down”
- Show proof of results
- Ex: “[UPGRADE NOTICE] $97 savings every month”
2. An Intro/Recap
It’s always a great idea to set the stage with a recap of your last interaction. Remind your prospect of the value they received from your previous interaction or what drew them to you in the first place – for example, the lead magnet used to capture a lead. This is an excellent way to prime them for the next step or close.
Ask them how they have used the information you gave them or remind them of any action steps they should be taking.
If this is your first follow up interaction, it’s a good idea to introduce your car shopper to your dealership and what you’re all about. You can do this by talking about your mission, vision, values, or summarize why your dealership is the best choice.
You can also intro your emails by talking about your car shopper’s need or a problem they are facing. This comes in handy for the next section.
3. A Pivot
The goal of the pivot is to transition your car shopper from thinking about their current state into thinking more broadly about their purchase or lease.
Specifically, you want your prospect to focus on the gap between their current vehicle/the reason they’re looking, and where they want to be with their next vehicle. We call this the “Before and After” states.
For example, let’s say your prospect just filled out a form on your website or landing page and you are following up to try to get them to buy a vehicle. At the moment they are curious and excited about potentially buying/leasing a new car. You’ll want to interrupt that excitement and get them to think more about purchasing as a whole and where your dealership can help make the process easier, faster and more fun.
This pivot is essential and it’s vital that you make this transition smooth.
4. An Authority Builder
Now that you have your prospect thinking about the gap between their desired before and after states, they are going to want to find a solution – which vehicle should they buy and where should they buy?
Your next step is to position your dealership as the logical authority that can help them enjoy the experience.
You can build authority and trust by talking about what makes your process easier, faster, and more fun. Include testimonials, process charts, etc.
Just make sure you are positioning your dealership to be a helpful guide, rather than a dealership only interested in setting an appointment for them to come to see you in person. You want your prospects to feel like they are a part of the process and in control of their business decisions.
5. A Core Benefit
Now it’s time to hit on your services and what your dealership has to offer. When talking about your offer, it’s essential that you hit on how your proposal will benefit your prospect. Get as specific as possible so that your prospect can paint a clear picture in their minds about how your services will help them achieve their desired after state.
This is a great time to use bullets. Using bullets in your email copy will help focus your prospect on the crucial information (because let’s face it, people usually skim emails).
Your core benefit is essential, so make sure it attracts attention. People will trade money for time and convenience so bullets could include valuable offers such as:
- No-Contact Pick-up and Delivery
- Shop and Service from Home
- Purchase by Phone, Email or Online
- Special Savings Offers such as delayed payments, zero to low-interest rates, etc.
6. A CTA
Every follow-up email should finish with a CTA (Call To Action). This is the immediate step your prospect should take. Your core benefit should hit on the services you want your client to convert on, so the CTA is how and where they convert. It can be a button they click, responding to your email, scheduling a call, etc.
7. A “P.S.” Statement
P.S. statements are a great way to drive home an action, benefit, or just re-emphasize important information. When people read emails, they usually scan through for bullets and read the beginning and end, so a P.S. statement is an excellent addition to your emails.
Just make sure your P.S. Statement doesn’t distract from your main CTA.
What’s Next?
Now that you’re following up and nurturing your sales-qualified leads, you’re ready to take your dealership to the next level!
If you’re ready to sell more cars, improve client retention, and generate more profit from the clients you already have, J&L Marketing is here to help with our Digital Marketing and Virtual Sale Event campaigns. Let’s start the conversation today about becoming a J&L Marketing partner and get the marketing you need to double your leads fast.
