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How to Deconstruct Your Leads

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

When a lead arrives in your inbox, do you quickly send out a response based on the type of vehicle they inquired about? If so, you may be going about it all wrong. While I agree that time is of the essence, the quality of response far outweighs the speed of the response. Why? If five local dealers send 1 minute auto-responses and you were to get back to the same prospect 20 minutes later, who sits atop their inbox when they open it up? You. The benefit? Many people read their emails from the top down. The first returned email is not always the first to be read.

That being said, take your time and follow these steps.

1. Determine (if possible, don’t assume) if it is a man or woman emailing and prepare yourself accordingly before a call or email.

2. What time did they submit their lead? Are they night owls? You should have both follow up emails and calls scheduled 23/24 hours after their initial inquiry (though those are not your first contacts).

3. Does their email address give anything away to where they work? Maybe you’ve sold someone from their office.

4. Does their location assist you in personalizing your email response? You may know someone in their area or have attended a local school yourself.

5. Google their name – find out everything you can about them. (It is time to do a little spying.)

6. Try to find their accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Spokeo.

Your goal is to find out as much about them – their interests, their likes, where they were schooled, where they work and live – as “digitally possible”. You must use these findings to build rapport with your prospect and find some common ground.

Internet Managers do not have the luxury of sitting in front of these leads unless you are employing video chat at your dealership – which I had done with great results. If not, use the digital networking sites and the clues they leave on their leads to offer them more than a price, but a friendly, professional guide through their car-buying process.

While it seems like a lot to do to each lead, you can legitimately accomplish the tasks in 5 minutes. It is well worth the extra time you will spend. The personalization of your response will weigh heavily on whether they ever walk into your showroom.

Tags: "Dealer Knows", "internet sales training", car dealer, Consulting, dealer, dealership training, internet sales, joe, joe Webb, knows, responding to leads, Training, webb
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Saving Deals

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

I recently sat through a vendor’s webex presentation. It was another in a long line of sales pitches looking for some product endorsement and sales referrals. In this case, their product was designed to help dealerships “save a deal”. This technology, embedded into the CRM and desking modules of our lives, have been available for quite some time. The thought-process of looking back on yesterday’s opportunities to make a deal for today has been around forever, though. Nothing new here.

The challenge of “saving deals” has not been the inability to commoditize those deals needing saving into a software, but it is changing the overall mindset of management. (Granted, having a tech solution to funnel this deal info and print it into reports is exceedingly helpful nowadays). First and foremost, the biggest challenge of saving deals is that management simply has never created the processes necessary to make it a standard way of life within the dealership.

Here are the two most effective ways to save deals that I’ve found while involves just a little effort and time from multiple departments.

1) You must institute daily meetings to ensure that no stone is unturned and no customer is lost without trying twice. Your management staff should collectively review the previous day’s in-store and online opportunities (preferably pulling a detailed report quickly from a CRM module that gathers the data automatically for you) and meet every morning. They should hold daily meetings with F&I to determine necessary actions to finish off any unclosed deals and hold a brief 5-minute one-on-one meeting with each individual sales representative to discuss what can be done to convert lost customers into be-back sales.

2) The second most important step to saving deals is having your Business Development Center be the backstop for your dealership. There are ways technologically to ensure your sales people are making their follow-up calls to past and recent customers, but you have no way of knowing if it was the salesperson that may have prevented the deal closing in the first place. Use your BDC staff to act as a Customer Care Center and let them be a second voice at the dealership for your customers. When you have someone else reaching out to your customers, you are ensuring that no customer is being discarded by a salesperson and you are opening another channel for that customer to discuss a potential deal.

So remember, a dedicated policy of saving deals requires effort from your management, F&I, Sales and BDC teams, but it will all be well-worth it come month’s end.

Joe Webb - Automotive Internet Sales Trainer - DealerKnows Consulting

Automotive Trainer Creates New Way for Dealerships to Achieve Online Sales Success

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

PR Log (Press Release) – Jan 21, 2010 – Automotive dealers are fighting their way out of the industry’s most economically challenging periods. With the economy on a slow upturn, dealerships are finding more stability in the market and dedicating themselves to the newest advances in online marketing.

However, much like the uphill battles facing a myriad of industries, dealers are struggling to compete with those that had instituted internet initiatives in their stores before the nation’s automotive sales plummeted. Auto industry expert, Joe Webb, President and Founder of DealerKnows Consulting, has created an innovative program to virtually manage the entire Internet sales department’s efforts and implement best practices with the use of web-based softwares, phone tracking solutions, and video chat. The Virtual Internet Director program ensures that all online advertising campaigns are measured, monitored, and monetized to their fullest.

“Dealers are getting away from paying the high costs of on-site training. An automotive consultant will spend a couple of days in the store and drown them in ideas and concepts. Truth is, it doesn’t always stick. The teachings of some trainers fades over time. Dealer employees need long-term guidance, specifically with the Internet departments and business development centers.”

Joe Webb found success in the automotive industry by personally creating and managing some of the most recognized Internet departments in the car industry. Webb parlayed his successes on the retail side into a prominent digital marketing consulting firm based out of Chicago, Illinois.

“I’ve traveled the nation and trained on-site in showrooms. What I’ve found is that most dealers and their employees need an advocate in their stores daily. I saw a need to develop a specific training and management program where I can be in these stores virtually…daily.”

The Virtual Internet Director program as it is being hailed offers car dealers the chance to have a recognized Internet sales expert and consulting leading the team and managing from afar while monitoring up-to-the-minute, real-time online and showroom activities through these CRM (customer relationship management) solutions.

For a fraction of the cost of in-store consulting, Joe Webb guarantees to put dealerships on the path to online success by reviewing internet correspondence between dealer employees and prospects, measuring the necessary metrics for online profitability, policing the ratios to make sure no e-lead goes unanswered and all vehicles are properly are advertised, mystery shopping the dealer client and their competitors, listening to recorded calls, holding daily calls and video trainings to the Internet department staff, and training on the best-in-class processes of online inventory management.

“Dealers’ eyes are opening and realizing that it is a breath of fresh air to know that an Internet Trainer is ensuring the success of the departments without the strain of trial and error. In this economy, dealers don’t have the luxury to spend too much time learning the best processes. They need help, but don’t often have the budget for it in store. DealerKnows’ Virtual Internet Director program solves this need. Basically, a dealer no longer has to worry about their business development centers…it is my job to keep everything growing for them.”

Webb’s first order of business was teaming with Vin Solutions, an industry leader in offering full-service customer management and website solution software to dealers. Webb recently became one of the few Certified Vin Solutions Trainers in the nation and believes the Vin Solutions software is one of the few natural fits for his Virtual Internet Director program.

Tags: automotive, car, consultant, Consulting, crm, dealer, dealerknows, dealership, director, internet depatment, internet sales, joe Webb, online, trainer, Training, vin solutions, virtual
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A Time To Call

Monday, December 7th, 2009

An individual is interested in a vehicle. They research the vehicle online endlessly. Site after site, they peruse through information regarding pricing, features, specs, model configurations, comparisons, and reviews. To stay away from the stereotypical car sales tricks that they’ve been predisposed to avoid, they decide to send an email inquiring about a specific vehicle to a number of dealerships. This customer could have called a dealership or simply driven to the local dealer quicker. Instead, they do all of their homework, hoping to prepare themselves for their inevitable purchase. Their goal is to receive back information that will help them make the decision between dealers easier. What happens? The customer’s phone rings. Sales representatives call unexpectedly and single-handedly shoot themselves in the foot by not utilizing the same medium that the customer has chosen to begin communication.

Why? Just as the customer has been trained to research and negotiate from the comforts of their own home, the sales associates have been trained to disregard the email and get them on the phone. Now, let me state that I agree with the trainings of some other consultants that there is a proven importance to getting a customer on the phone. However, I disagree with their beliefs that a call to an internet customer comes before an email. That is an antiquated and dangerous philosophy to be teaching people on the floor during these times. I also believe that a 1-miute auto-responder confirming the receipt of the lead is not a worthy enough email to warrant a call. A call to a customer without their permission and without warning is often unwanted and automatically eliminates you from consideration. You are unwilling to take their desires into account when contacting them, they figure, so how are they to trust you in the future?

When do you reach out to them and how do you do so without upsetting today’s temperamental customers? You must begin by sending a detailed, personalized email with information (and pricing) regarding their exact vehicle requested as well as some alternative options. In this personalized, customer-focused email answering all of their questions, you must also state that “I understand you are looking for this information quickly. If I do not hear from you shortly, I will be calling you to confirm you have received this email.” Ten minutes after this lengthy email is sent, you have earned the right to pick up the phone and call. However, the phone call has to be under a guise other than “Hey…got your email. When do ya wanna come in so I can sell you this here car?” Now, I put a twang in that call because that is what I commonly receive while mystery shopping. Priceless. Instead, here is a best practice that I taught my staff at my dealership. The call must be presented as “Hello Mrs./Mr. Customer, my name is (you) and I am with ABC motors. I don’t mean to bother you, but I simply wanted to ensure that you have received the email I sent, answering all of your questions that you inquired about. “Emphasize the last “you” so they realize that they brought this call on themselves and that you are doing them a favor. Continue with “With all of the spam filters out there today, I needed to make sure it landed in your inbox. I’d hate to think that you didn’t get all of your questions answered just because of a mail system.” Whether they have checked or not, once they have acknowledged and understand your unselfish purpose for calling, you can say, “While I have you on the phone, can I ask if you’ve already had the opportunity to test drive this vehicle?” Then follow your normal script/phone structure.

Your initial email has provided them all of the information that they’ve requested. At that point, you have essentially done everything that they have asked of you and more. You gave them a warning shot that alerted them of an impending call. Now, if you receive an email immediately back stating – no call – or anything similar (even if you receive follow up questions), I believe you should continue to use that medium. Email may be their security blanket. Taking that away from them makes you the enemy. Respect their wishes and continue with that medium of communication.

Reaching out to them in the same method in which they contacted you shows your customers respect. We’ve all heard a customer say “if I wanted to talk to someone in person, I would have just called myself.” It’s difficult to talk yourself out of that one. I’ve tried and, more often than not, any potential relationship is shot at that point. So don’t put yourself in that position. Use the customer’s chosen method of communication and only call when you have given them fair warning. Otherwise, you are liable to come off sounding as a telemarketer, or worse, the dreaded car salesperson they were trying to sidestep.

Opening a dialogue on the phone with the customer will forever remain imperative. What is equally important? Knowing the time to call.

To learn how to make the most of your business development center, visit http://www.dealerknows.com/contact

Tags: auto, automotive, BDC, business development center, car, car dealer, Consulting, dealer, joe Webb, phone, phone scripts, phone training, trainer, Training
Posted in Blog, Internet Lead Process, Lead Management/Follow-up Process | No Comments »

The Lot

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

- Unfortunately, this video will show you just what customers’ expectations are when visiting auto dealers. DealerKnows can help put this horror story-stereotype behind you.

Tags: "Dealer Knows", auto, auto sales, bad car sales experience, dealer, dealerknows, dealerknows.com, dealership service, expectations, funny, joe Webb, sales, stereotype
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Seeing Double

Saturday, October 4th, 2008

Seeing double is never a good thing.Not in any circumstance, short of hold cards in a Texas hold ‘em tournament. Seeing double can be dangerous and very costly.More and more Internet Sales Managers, though, are seeing double on a regular basis.Duplicate leads are an expensive problem for all dealerships.

With dealers trying to acquire as many internet leads as possible and vendors fighting tooth and nail to obtain the leads on behalf of dealers, duplicates are more prevalent than ever.Not only do lead generators sell the very same leads to more than one lead provider, but those lead providers are passing that customer’s information along to the same dealership.And a duplicate lead is born.

The other way a lead becomes duplicate is by the internet shopper visiting more than one website to acquire quotes.Often, the customer first visits the dealer’s website and then requests quotes from a third-party site to keep their dealer honest.Otherwise, they shop multiple channels because they actually believe three quotes from Edmunds may not be as aggressive as three quotes from Cars.com, or vice versa.

Problems arise when more than one individual is handling leads.An ISM cannot remember the names of all of their active prospects.Even then, the duplicate lead may not attach to the original if the address, first name (spouse’s name), vehicle, phone number, or any other variable doesn’t match.

Since lead aggregators obviously aren’t aware what other leads companies are sending you, dealers are being double-billed.If you already are actively working a lead generated from another source, whether it originated from your website or a third-party site, you shouldn’t have these duplicate costs.Lead providers don’t actively try to send you duplicates, but it is revenue so they are not actively trying to train their dealers to prevent and catch them either.As Stephen Stauning, eCommerce Director for the Asbury Automotive Group says, “While duplicate leads will always be an issue for dealerships, it’s important to recognize that the big three aggregators have done a very good job of self-policing.”

As a dealer, if you have not yet recognized the problem of duplicate leads, you are paying far more than necessary to generate e-business.There are several ways that you can track the duplicates and make sure you are credited for those leads.

Stephen Stauning believes “the best weapon any dealership can employ against duplicate leads is a great ILM tool that will not only de-dupe, but will also generate one-click duplicate lead reports that the dealership can easily submit to the aggregators for credit.”

Majority of CRM and ILM tools do actively search for duplicates, but some are more pro-active than others.Webcontrol AVV and Contact Management, I know from first-hand experience, do catch a decent amount of inbound duplicates.IMagicLab DealerCRM has developed a software that takes a more complete approach, not only focusing on the capturing of duplicate information, but assists in the crediting of said leads.Tom Harsha, Vice President of Training for IMagic Labs, says “Anyone that has worked Internet leads knows how frustrating and incredibly time consuming the ritual of checking every lead each month can be.In most cases salespeople don’t have the time to perform the manual review of leads and still sell cars so the leads go mostly unchecked.The real beauty of fully automated duplicate and bad lead checking is that is allows dealers to finally purchase third party leads with confidence.(The right CRM) will allow a dealer to know that each lead is checked, rejected and automatically credited so they don’t pay twice for the same customer opportunity.”

It is nice to know that today’s best ILM and CRMs are attempting to shoulder more responsibility of keeping lead costs and internet advertising budgets down for their clients.As any ISM or Internet Director that has handled a significant amount of leads and utilized these systems as their sole means of catching and crediting duplicates will tell you, no system is perfect on its own.That is why there are companies forming such as ILead Control whose product performs as a filter between all lead providers and your own CRM.Their solution is capturing a greater percentage than the CRMs since they are searching for a wider range of variables that will trigger an alert of a possible duplicate.Their reporting software provides the necessary documentation to provide the lead aggregators for credits as well as the exact amount to short-pay the invoice (so you don’t have to wait a month for the credit, but have it deducted before the invoice is sent).Bill Hilbun, owner of ILead Control, estimates lead duplication rates are around 12% to 15% for most dealers that are active with internet leads.He states that “duplicate leads are a fact of life…overpaying for them and waiting for credit doesn’t have to be!Use tools that save you time and money and puts the pressure back on the lead providers to send you quality leads.”

If all dealers make it a point to be credited for duplicate leads, then the lead providers will focus their attention (and own advertising) on making sure theirs is the first site visited by each and every automotive internet user.Duplicate leads are the large problem, but there are also bad leads (incorrect information) to worry about as well.One training company, Automotive Internet Management (AIM), spends time training their dealers on how to classify leads.Chris Olsen, Director of Sales for AIM, promises to argue justification about leads that don’t provide correct phone numbers and email addresses on behalf of dealers.Bad leads can be close to 10% of all leads – close to the same percentage of duplicates.”

So there you have it, folks.You just learned that for every 100 leads you receive, 20 are bogus.And you are likely paying for those 20.Simple math – 20 leads at an average $20 per lead means you are paying $400 more than you should.If you are a larger store receiving 1,000 leads a month like mine, it could add up to $4,000.Most ISMs would love an extra $4,000 to spend toward more, legitimate leads.All you have to do is utilize the right tools, CRM solutions, and dedicate your time to the problem.Pay attention and save your dealer money.They will love you for it.The easiest way for me to put it is…be careful what you pay for.

Tags: car dealers, car sales, dealer, dealerknows, duplicate leads, internet sales, joe Webb, lead dedup, lead management, monitoring your investment, online savings
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