We know reaching out to strangers can be intimidating. Following up with clients over email when a contact form doesn’t include a phone number or much information can be extremely intimidating. When your body shop receives leads via email, online through forms, or over the phone, not everyone knows how to properly reach out to those leads to get a response. Lucky for you, at Stratosphere Studio we a lot about how to communicate with leads via email.
So much of our time spent with digital marketing is about communicating. Communicating with clients, communicating with leads, communicating through social media, and just communicating with our brand. For you, we want to help you learn how to communicate with leads for your repair shop. Here are some super simple ways your repair shop can communicate with leads to make sure you’re connecting and bringing in new clients.
How to Introduce Yourself
Just like when you’re writing a story, you must have a grabbing opening line to persuade your audience into wanting more. A compelling introduction is the difference between an email being opened or phone call continuing and having something go straight to trash or being hung up on. Let’s talk about email introductions for your repair shop to communicate with leads via:
If someone submits an inquiry on your website about a collision estimate, scheduling an appointment, or simply inquiring about your company, you need to pique their interest as they move throughout their buyer’s journey.
For Someone Who’s Trying to Learn More:
Someone who is trying to figure out if your repair shop is the best choice for them they are going to need more information. They were intrigued enough before to give you their email, so follow up! In your subject line, try writing things like this:
- “Is your car in need of [this service]?”
- “Did you know we offer free estimates?”
- “Have you heard your seatbelts need to be inspected? Check out our blog to find out why.”
- “Have you read our eBook on [this service/repair]?”
These are all great options to keep those soft leads updated. It will help keep your business in their minds as they are looking for what they need. Just make sure you have the content to further educate.
For those who have scheduled an appointment or are looking for an online estimate, the subject line should be very straightforward. They’re really only looking for confirmation that you saw the form they filled out. In your subject line, try:
- “Scheduling Update for Your Vehicle.”
- “Update for your Collision Estimate.”
- “Your Estimate is Here!”
- “Thank you for Scheduling Your Appointment!”
Subject lines like these are super simple and to the point. They submitted their inquiry and are already waiting for your response, so these subject lines will answer their question.
Greetings and Opening Line
Because you’re writing to your clients as part of the auto industry, you can afford to keep the conversation relaxed. They’re really only looking for the briefest message containing answers to their questions. Stick with a “Hello [Name].” We also recommend reaching out to them with their first name. While it may feel different, it is becoming super common and because you’re in a relaxed industry, it will feel more natural to the recipient whether you contact them via phone or email.
Your opening line should always start with the information related to your audience. In this case, you are reaching out to someone who has potentially submitted for an online estimate. Your opening line should look something like this:
“Your recent submission for an online car estimate for [information about car] was viewed by our team members here at [repair shop name].”
This lets them know the reason they reached out has been validated. Make to follow that opening line with information about when they can expect their estimate or a phone call. This is the best way to explain your reason for reaching out. This is also an opportunity to provide them with reading material such as awesome blogs from your website, downloadable eBooks, or links to other services that might intrigue them.
Working out The Kinks
As we said earlier, communicating with leads via email can be stressful if you’re not used to it. But more often, people prefer to talk and set things up through email. The more you do it, the easier it will be. At Stratosphere Studio, we want to help you figure out the steps best for you. If you’re nailing the emails to leads but are lacking in areas like providing beneficial content in the emails, let us know! We love the collision repair and body shop industry. We’re experts! Our team is dedicated to helping you with email blasts, advertisements, content creation, and more. If this sounds like something you need, reach out! We’d love to hear your story.
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