Tag Archives: follow-up

You just got back from a great show, but despite your best efforts, some meetings with prospects didn’t lead to a sale. Not so unusual, is it? You also realize that you didn’t see some potential buyers that you were sure would visit your booth over the weekend.

A man visits a Midwest dealership looking for a cruiser class motorcycle. The salesperson asks about his favorite local places to ride and learns he is new to the area, having moved for his new job. The man has done his research, decided on a bike, and the bike is in stock.

Most new prospects who visit a dealer’s booth for the first time aren’t ready to commit on the spot. In fact, most sales are closed with prospects that dealers have been working with for a while, even as far back as past shows. Motorcycles, ATVs and other powersports products are luxury purchases that often require a long-term research and buying process, so this first visit usually marks the beginning of the sales process, not the sale per se.

A customer purchases a new major unit – a snowmobile – from his favorite dealer. As part of the purchase he also spent $1,500 in performance parts, $900 in service work to install them and $500 on a new jacket to match his sled. His total expenditure is more than $15,000.

Even today, with increased industry focus on sales process and the technology tools to support it, this basic but critical step is not preformed with eight out of 10 visitors to a powersports dealership.