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Every Internet Lead is a Car Deal – Right ?

A.C.E. System - AmazonAutoNationA Sales Manager at a Ford Dealership once asked me;

“Dave, in your experience, what percentage of Internet shoppers who send an e-Lead to our store will buy a car?”

“All of them. 100%”

Good salespeople know they will close a certain percentage of their prospects.

The really good ones can tell you exactly how many people they need to speak with each day / week / month to reach their sales and income objectives.

What about the Great ones?

 


Great sales people  believe every person they meet will buy a car from them. They don’t think in terms of closing ratios. They assume every sale. This “certainty” is what separates an 8 car guy from one who delivers 30 every month.

 

Do great salespeople sell a car to everyone they speak with?

 

No… But they “believe” they will.

 

I’ve had the pleasure of working with some seriously talented salespeople in the car business over the past 3 decades. The majority of the Eagles share this trait, this belief that sooner or later, all prospects will buy from them.

What would happen if Internet Leads at your car dealership were treated in this way? (Assumed to be certain deals).

What would happen if all leads went to only those who absolutely believed they would close them? (The Eagles)

This is not a difficult question to answer. You can run a simple split test to find out.

Note: The example below is for a medium size dealership getting 10-12 Internet leads a day on average.

Step # 1

Ask the top 3  (non-Internet) salespeople at your store to help you “set the standard” for closing ratios on Internet leads. (This is a challenge few top producers will pass up, when asked directly by the Dealer Principal).

Make it a month long  competition and offer a WEEKLY incentive that you present at sales meetings. Appeal to their competitive nature.  (All salespeople working Internet leads would participate in the bonus, should they qualify).

Step # 2

Give no more than 2 leads a day to each star. Change nothing with the way you distribute the remaining leads to the other sales people.

Step # 3

Have your Internet Sales Manager (or Lead Manager) send a broadcast text message to your stars each time a lead arrives for them. First to respond, gets the lead.

Qualify the leads by including a few additional details in the text message. For example, if it’s a credit application or request for the Internet Best Price, tell them. If you have a phone number, mention this also. Why? You want to give them the option to pass on some leads, depending on their situation at the time.   (This is important).

Step # 4

Meticulously track the results for all Internet leads, appointment conversions, writes, deliveries, etc.

Results:

After a month you may discover that not only is the  closing ratio on Internet leads, (worked by your Eagles), much higher than historical norms, in some cases, it may actually be higher than the store average for sales calls and ups.

You may also notice a sharp increase in the closing ratio for other salespeople working Internet leads. Why? Because there is now an incentive to close more leads in order to get more leads.

When you directly tie performance to supply of new leads, the numbers shoot straight up. (Turn and Earn)

If this works for Internet leads, why not apply the same process to the way sales calls are distributed and tracked?

There are many other reasons why using a strategy like this works so well. Over the past several years we’ve developed a proprietary system for managing Internet leads called A.C.E. If you would like to know more about this or the other services we provide, let me know.

All prospects who send an Internet lead to your dealership will be buying a car. Some will purchase from you, some from your competitors, but in the end, they all buy.

David Tingley

Comments

comments

{ 4 comments… add one }
  • Brad Mcdonald March 3, 2012, 7:59 am

    I read this over and over and honestly, you are a master at what you do! If anyone would like to increase their sales, get to the next level in life spiritually, or understand the true art of internet sales, I would recommend Mr Tingley.

    I had the chance to work along with Dave for the last 3 years and I am truly dedicated to his knowledge and wisdom. I went from 18-20 units a month to achieve 35 cars at times and it honestly is because of the support and push from Dave.

    I didn’t know how to turn on a computer 3 years ago. He has guided me to a level that I am truly grateful for! I was not asked to do this nor do I have anything to gain by saying these words.

    Invest in yourself, and if you have the chance, meet this fellow Dave Tingley!!! Make it happen and it will change your life, as it did for me. There is a saying I believe in; “If you keep doing what you are doing, you will get what you are doing”.

    Reach out and learn from this guy as I did!

    All the best and a big thank you Dave!!!

    Cheers Brad McDonald!!!!!

  • David Tingley March 3, 2012, 11:35 am

    Wow Brad.

    Thank you for that endorsement.

    Dude, everyone who reads your post is going to think I paid you to write it : )

    It’s always a pleasure to work with Eagles like you.

    You make my job easy, and fun.

    Mahalo

  • Darryl Varadi March 15, 2012, 8:22 pm

    If this was a recipe, Martha would have it on the cover of her cookbook Dave. Nice job.

  • David Tingley March 15, 2012, 8:36 pm

    Thank you Darryl.

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