digital dealer magazine december 2009

Just as you are trying to keep your store(s) on the cutting edge, we are doing the very same thing as we venture into a new frontier in the publishing biz.

We can get this digital version in your hands 2-3 weeks faster than the print version, giving you the freshest information possible. You can click on links at the end of each article to email the author of such. And you can click on the ads to link to that advertiser’s website (and you’d REALLY be helping us out by doing just that).

It’s quite intuitive…I don’t think that someone who uses the Internet to make a living will have any trouble easily figuring it out.

Please let me know what you think about it… [email protected]

Welcome to the digital editionof Digital Dealer magazine!

Michael Roscoe Editor-in-Chief

The Technology Magazine for Dealers & Managers

December 2009

Association of Automotive


Internet Sales Professionals


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JOSEALONSO

Internet e-Commerce

DirectorJenkins Auto Group

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JOSEALONSO

Internet e-Commerce

DirectorJenkins Auto Group

page 18

Internet Sales:Are You a Creator, or Just a Bad Prophet?page 10

Online Buyers Have Wants Also page 18

How to Respond to Leads the Right Waypage 20

Technology Trends:How to Find and Use Customer Datapage 25

Internet Sales:Are You a Creator, or Just a Bad Prophet?page 10

Online Buyers Have Wants Also page 18

How to Respond to Leads the Right Waypage 20

Technology Trends:How to Find and Use Customer Datapage 25

DD 2 December 2009 DigitalDealer-magazine.com

FEATURE

Digital Dealer Cover Story22 Jose Alonso

Internet e-Commerce DirectorJenkins Auto Group

COLUMNSAAISP Notes

8 Social Media SkepticCliff Banks

Internet Sales10 Are You a Creator, or Just a Bad Prophet?

Phil Sura

12 Improving your E-mail Delivery RatePeter Martin

14 A Right Time to CallJoe Webb

16 Still Struggling with Handling Internet Leads?Jeff Rubin

18 Online Buyers Have Wants AlsoRob Lange

20 How to Respond to Leads the Right WayTom Mohr

21 Ways to Create a ‘Sticky’ Web SitePaige Presley

Technology Trends25 How to Find and Use Customer Data

Sandi Jerome

BDC/CRM26 What Type of Manager Are You?

Chuck Barker

28 Increase Profits Despite Sales Floor WeaknessesGuy Manasse

DEPARTMENTS4 Digital Dealer E-mail6 News

TABLE OF CONTENTSAssociation of Automotive




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A PUBLICATION OF

DECEMBER 2009PRESIDENT AND CEO

MICHAEL ROSCOE

VICE PRESIDENT AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

CLIFF [email protected]

248-351-2620

EDITORLINDA DI PIETRO

[email protected]

PUBLISHERGREG NOONAN

[email protected]

ART DIRECTORJOE BIRCH

PRODUCTION MANAGERELIZABETH BIRCH

PRINT PRODUCTIONDAVID MANTHEY

COVER DESIGNJOE BIRCH

DESIGN CONSULTINGPUBLICATION DESIGN, INC.

COVER STORY PHOTOGRAPHYJOHN JERNIGAN

CIRCULATION SUBSCRIPTIONRICH JARRETT314-432-7511

[email protected]

NATIONAL ADVERTISING [email protected]

607-264-3359

Dealer magazine makes every attempt toensure the accuracy of all published works.However it cannot be held responsible foropinions expressed or facts supplied herein.Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in partwithout written permission from the publisher.All rights reserved. The publisher encouragesyou to submit suggestions. Submitted materialsbecome the property of Horizon Communications,Inc. and will not be returned. Send material forpublication to 330 Franklin Rd., Suite 135A,PMB 386, Brentwood, TN 37027. The editorreserves the right to edit material; submissionof material constitutes permission to edit andpublish that material. This publication isdesigned to provide accurate and authoritativeinformation in regard to the subject mattercovered. It is presented with the understandingthat the publisher is not engaged in renderinglegal, accounting or other professional service.If legal advice or other expert assistance isrequired, the services of a competent profes-sional person should be sought. From aDeclaration of Principles jointly adopted by aCommittee of the American Bar Associationand a Committee of Publishers.

The Technology Magazine for Dealers & Managers


Chuck Barker,I printed your September 2009

Digital Dealer magazine article enti-tled, “The Character of a Dealership isDefined by its People, not its Walls andjust got a chance to read it. This isreally great information. Thanks.

In the article you mentioned to e-mail you for more leadership ideas. Iwould appreciate any info you can giveme.

Thanks again, Paul BackusMort Backus and Sons Chevrolet-BuickOgdensburg, NY

Dear Chuck Barker,Thank you for the inspiring words

from your September 2009 DigitalDealer magazine article, “TheCharacter of a Dealership is Defined byits People, not its Walls.” I have alwaysthought of myself as a student of thisbusiness. I am open to any helpfulhints or information you may have tohelp make me a better sales manager.

Thanks again,

Dan Hazen Sales manager Midland Ford Lincoln Mercury Midland, MI

Chuck Barker, I just read your article, “The

Character of a Dealership is Definedby its People, not its Walls,”September 2009 Digital Dealer maga-zine. Wow ! That was a powerful piece.Large egos of little men I, too, haveseen in all of the car dealerships I haveworked in over the last 35 years. Payplans and power go to men’s heads andthen it becomes “big me and littleyou” over and over. I can only explainit by saying it is the nature of the beast– the human condition. This showsweak character with no limit except tosatisfy one’s ego. Like I have alreadypreached to my own employees formany years... “People buy frompeople, not buildings or walls orsigns.” Make a good name for yourselfof high moral character and be honestand trustworthy...every day.

Name withheld upon request

Digital Dealer welcomes your letters andafter verification will run them signed orunsigned. Letters may be edited for spaceand clarity. Send letters [email protected].

D IGITAL Dealer E-MAIL

Tim Jennings,I am the Internet sales manager at a

new Ford and Mercury dealer. I wasreally impressed with your cover storyarticle in the October 2009 DigitalDealer magazine. Although I have 15years experience in the car business, Iam brand new to the Internet market-ing side of the auto industry.

After reading the article, I know youmust be a busy man, but my ownerand I would like to ask you a couplequestions. We are attempting to seri-ously expand our presence online, andare experiencing some unintendedgrowing pains.

The first issue we have had come upseveral times is about "Whose deal isit?" We have a lot of customers nottelling us initially where they have seenour cars or trucks. I am losing, orhaving to split a lot of deals when thecustomer initially found the vehicle onthe Internet. My owner wants to befair to everyone, but with the shortagein walk-in traffic, I am not finding outabout Internet deals until long afterthe fact. How do you handle that situ-ation at your store? Are youcompensated for your upkeep of allthat’s involved with digital marketing?I don't mind working hard, but it sureis difficult not getting paid for deals

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Through AutoOffice and AutoOfficePlus, the Kelley Blue Book brand and itsvalues can be leveraged for marketingpurposes on the dealer’s web site withCDMdata’s inventory frame-in and onthe dealership lot with Kelley Blue Bookbranded window stickers. WithinAutoOffice and AutoOffice Plus, dealersalso have access to Kelley Blue Bookvalues to help make pricing decisions.

These new offerings, starting at $159per month, are now available to dealersalongside CDMdata’s existing DigitalLotSolution and Dealer Services products.

Dealer.com wins‘Automobile Standard ofExcellence’ WebAwardsDealer.com, a leader of online market-

ing solutions for the automotive industry,has announced it received two“Automobile Standard of Excellence”2009 WebAwards from the WebMarketing Association. Dealer.com autodealership clients Ed Voyles Acura andFlatirons Subaru were entered into theprestigious international competition thathonors outstanding achievement inwebsite development. More than 2,000sites from 47 countries were entered in 96industry categories during this year'scompetition. Entries were judged ondesign, innovation, content, technology,interactivity, copy writing and ease of use.This is the second consecutive year thatDealer.com has received the WebAwardsAutomobile Standard of Excellence.

Bill Stout, general manager of EdVoyles Acura, commented, "We arehonored by the WebAward and I amvery pleased with our work withDealer.com. Their level of service isalways at or above my expectations, andeveryone at Dealer.com is very respon-sive and pleasant to work with. Ourweb site design and production withDealer.com was seamless and it was easyto make the switch. And we just signedup for their SEO service to achieve evenmore success and first-party lead genera-tion from our website."


D IGITAL Dealer TECH NEWS

CDMDATA launchesAutoOffice andAutoOffice Plus

CDMdata, Inc., a Kelley Blue Bookcompany, has announced the launch ofits all-new AutoOffice and AutoOfficePlus offerings in a time when cuttingoverall costs and increasing turn rate isparamount. AutoOffice is a web-basedinventory management solution designedas a one-stop-shop for pricing, managing,marketing and selling inventory online.The tool simplifies the collection ofvehicle information, detailed seller’s notesand multiple photos, and distributing thelistings to online advertising web sites.AutoOffice Plus builds on these featuresby giving dealers access to the marketpricing tool and ability to post inventoryon Craigslist.

With access to the market pricingtool in AutoOffice Plus, dealerships canunderstand how their used-car pricingcompares to local sellers and the overallmarket. This information provides asnapshot of other vehicle listings andcreates an opportunity to better lever-age Kelley Blue Book Values to helpprice inventory.

Another leading benefit of theAutoOffice and AutoOffice Plus prod-ucts is that pre-owned inventory listingson kbb.com’s The Trusted Marketplaceare included in both products. TheTrusted Marketplace incorporates itsonline vehicle research with dealerinventory listings, making kbb.com aone-stop-source for new- and used-carshoppers, and offers dealerships expo-sure to the web sites’ 14 million monthlyvisitors. CDMdata’s dealer customerswill receive merchandising treatments inThe Trusted Marketplace, includingKelley Blue Book Suggested RetailValues and Kelley Blue Book DigitalWindow Stickers integrated within theirlistings. In addition, customers willreceive additional callouts, which iden-tify their used vehicles as “newly listed”and “price lowered.”

The Ed Voyles Acura website wasdesigned in conjunction withDealer.com's overall online marketingsolution for Acura of North America'sU.S. dealer network. The FlatironsSubaru site was also created as a part ofDealer.com's solution for Subaru ofNorth America's U.S. dealer network.Both sites were designed to create consis-tent brand experience, capability andquality. In addition, the sites re-enforcethe respective brands and styles, ensuringthe brand interaction is consistentthroughout the dealer network, whileshowcasing each dealership's unique char-acteristics and personality. Mostimportantly, the sites offer consumers animproved shopping experience at thedealerships' websites.

Ryan Dunn, Dealer.com creative direc-tor, also commented, "What is mostrewarding, is to see the spirit, talent andphilosophy of Dealer.com epitomized bythese solutions and the effort by all teamsinvolved to bring them to market. Eachproject represents the unique capacity forour system to be adapted and designed forthe intended audience, while building uponthe strengths of a common foundation."

Chrome survey revealsvaluable informationabout how consumersresearch and choose

vehicles onlineChrome Systems Inc., a subsidiary of

DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. and anindustry leader in managing automotivedata, has announced the results of a recentsurvey that sheds additional light on theconsumer vehicle shopping and purchas-ing process. The online survey of adultswho had purchased or leased a vehicle inthe previous 12 months was conducted byZogby International for Chrome. Amongthe survey’s key findings were:

Eighty-six percent of the respondentsresearched their new vehicle online beforepurchasing or leasing. They chose to shoponline because it is convenient (73%), itsaves time (60%), it obviates the pressureof talking to a salesperson (58%), and it

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At the moment, it’s a tough sale for me.An easier proposition for me is knowingthat salespeople or employees can besitting on Facebook all day, and rational-izing it as “work.”

“Hey, I’m building our brand. I’mmarketing to our community.”

Right.As an industry, we still have a

tough time responding correctly tophone calls, walk in traffic and e-mailleads. I mystery shop occasionallyand phone skills across the board arelacking; e-mail response times stillhave a ways to go.

How many customers walk into yourshowroom without being properlygreeted or being asked for their infor-mation?

My concern is that Facebook, or othersocial media applications, become an easyout – a way to avoid doing the hard workof selling cars. We still have to continuebanging on the basics. Despite all of thenew glittering technology, this still is asales business. And it’s hard work, follow-ing the processes, doing the follow up,and making the extra call. These are thethings that have sold cars, and willcontinue to sell cars long into the future.

The headline says it all – yes, I’m skep-tical. But, the fact is, you probablyshould start playing on Facebook if youhaven’t already.

But do so with a plan. I know there areconsultants who might disagree and whoargue that value of social media is itsorganic nature and lack of structure.

Trust me, as a business you want tocontrol and structure your Facebookefforts just as you do with anything else inyour store.

Turning it over to employees withoutguidance or some oversight could lead tobig problems later on. If you’re the owner,it’s your name and business.

First, determine a strategy for how youapproach Facebook. There’s more than

Cliff BanksD IGITAL Dealer AAISP NOTES

I’m not a big fan of dealerships divinginto the Facebook game – or at least,doing so without putting some

thought into the effort.Leveraging Facebook – along with

other social media applications – was apopular topic at the recent Digital DealerConference and Exposition in Nashville,and rightfully so.

More and more dealers are playingwith Facebook trying to figure out waysto drive more traffic to their stores. This isa rough guess but about one-third of mynearly 400 Facebook friends are dealers.

At first glance, the statistics of usage areamazing. There are more than 300million active users on Facebook. But70% of them are outside the U.S. Still, it’sa lot of users and it makes sense that busi-nesses would want to try to find ways totap into that market.

I think the most important question,though, is can a dealership use Facebookto sell and service more vehicles? That’swhat you’re in business for. I know,having a presence and trying to interactwith your market in a way that’s non-sales driven is warm and fuzzy, but doesthat turn into your dealership makingmore money?

Social Media Skeptic

one way to make it work. But you have tohave an idea of what kind of return youwant, and what your investment level(time-wise) is going to be.

Over the next several months, you’ll seea lot more in Digital Dealer magazineabout ways to capitalize on social mediaand ways you can protect your business.

By April, when we hold the nextDigital Dealer Conference andExposition, we’ll have a muchbetter idea as an industry of the“do’s and don’ts” of social media.

For now, here are a couple ofexamples of dealers on Facebook

who are doing it “right.”I’m a Facebook friend with Tracy

Myers, a dealer in North Carolina. Hedoes an incredible job leveragingFacebook. But it’s him that does it. Heuses it to interact with his community andtells me he sells cars every month becauseof it.

Another dealer who has figured it out isSteve White Volkswagen and Audi inSouth Carolina.

I could tell you what these dealers aredoing, but it’s best if you see it for your-selves. They have a nice balance between“sales” and community interaction, and itseems to work.

Now, it’s time for this skeptic to prac-tice what he preaches. In the next coupleof weeks, we’ll be launching a Facebookpage for Dealer magazine. So stay tuned,and hopefully we’ll be able to help eachother figure it out.

If you wish to discuss this article withother dealers, or with the author,please go to the “Discussion Forums”at www.DigitalDealer-magazine.comand enter the “AAISP” forum or e-mail him at [email protected].

“My concern is thatFacebook, or other

social media applications,become an easy out – a way to avoid doing

the hard work of selling cars.”

—Cliff Banks


The world has always been full ofvisionaries. Some are better thanothers at making predictions.

Here are some examples of famousquotes that didn’t hit the mark. Source:http://rinkworks.com/said/predictions.shtml

“I think there is a world market formaybe five computers.” – ThomasWatson, chairman of IBM, 1943.

“But what...is it good for?” – Engineerat the Advanced Computing SystemsDivision of IBM, 1968, commenting onthe microchip.

“There is no reason anyone wouldwant a computer in their home.” – KenOlson, president, chairman and founderof Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.

“With over 50 foreign cars already onsale here, the Japanese auto industry isn’tlikely to carve out a big slice of the U.S.market.” – Business Week, August 2, 1968.

We could also come up with a list offamous bad predictions and statementsfrom dealers and managers within autodealerships. The list could include someof the following that I have personallyheard over the last six months:

“I don’t want the Internet team tocontrol the entire dealership.”

“Every dealer will be getting involvedwith video so why would I embracevideo?”

“Staying with three photos of myinventory is good enough.”

“I fired the entire Internet teambecause they were too expensive to keep.”

“Gross averages will always be hurt bythe Internet department.”

“Giving a customer a competitive priceonline simply gives that customer a shop-ping price to go to the competition.”

“Print advertising will always give usour strongest results since most dealershave pulled out.”

“I don’t have a CRM, we have a goodlocation and we can rely on our drive bytraffic.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Iwork with a number of managers anddealers constantly testing new concepts tostay ahead of the curve with online initia-tives. We are in a period where ideas mustbe tested. Status quo is not acceptable.Here are some ideas that dealers aretesting or using:

http://www.addthis.com/ – This is agreat way to add pages or listings. Theweb site allows you to link content into aweb site, blogs, Word Press and MySpace. You can then convert the contentinto 50 different languages. This is a greatway to connect quickly and easily to alarger consumer base.

Are You a Creator, or Just a Bad Prophet?Many dealers refuse to surrender to the pressures of the market

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D IGITAL Dealer INTERNET SALESPhil Sura

http://www.radleychevrolet.com/ou/fredericksburg-chevrolet/?make=chevrolet– Check out the link for current incen-tives on the lower right side. Thisprovides customers the most currentincentives for any new car by region. It isconsistent with the teaching that a moretransparent online approach is perceivedas a major positive by the consumer.

http://www.tischerbmw.net/ – Checkout the use of video on the home page.Please note that the homepage showcasesspecials, aged used units, new car content,and a dealer spotlight video explainingwhy a customer should visit this specificdealership. Video drives time on the site,which leads to an increase in conversion(phone ups plus e-mail leads againstunique visitor count).

http://www.worldhyundaireviews.com/# – This is a concept for linking consumerreviews to multiple areas including theweb site and linking the reviews fororganic searches. Two options for dealerdriven reviews include:http://www.prestoreviews.com/ andhttp://www.dealerrater.com/ If possible,link the reviews to the Google map. Inaddition to reviews on the Google map,make certain that you have pictures andan overview of the dealership on this page.

http://compete.com/ – Use this site todetermine how your dealership rankswith unique visitors and time on site withother dealers in the area or dealers acrossthe country. These are key measurementsthat many dealers are still not focused on.The concept is simple. If the average timeon site with your dealership is twominutes and the dealer site across thestreet is 13 minutes, you have a problem.

Create a YouTube channel. Link videosinto the channel.

“If you are going

to survive today,

you had better love

this industry.”—Phil Sura


In a previous issue we started dis-cussing why delivering e-mails todayhas become more of a challenge and

how “list fatigue” is a common problemthat has been overlooked. This is the sec-ond in a three-part series to help youclean your database and improve your e-mail delivery rate.

The risk of mailing to inactivesubscribers

When you mail to inactivesubscribers, your reputation and deliver-ability are at stake. ISPs routinely turnold e-mail addresses that are no longer inuse into spam traps. These traps, whichare also called honey pots, are monitoredby the ISPs to see which e-mailmarketers are continuing to send e-mailsto these invalid addresses as a way toidentify spammers.

Even if someone opted-in to your listwith that e-mail address and remainedactive for a time, if the owner of the e-mail address discontinued use of thataddress and you haven’t updated yourrecords for that subscriber, you will looklike a spammer to the ISPs and yourmessages will be delivered to the junkmail folder or they will be blocked.

Even if an address hasn’t been turnedinto a honey pot, unused and invalid e-mail addresses will still bounce. ISPsmonitor the number of bounces yourcampaigns generate, and once you reach acertain threshold, your messages won’t bedelivered. With churn rates as high as30% per year, it is imperative that youremove the old, inactive, and invalid e-mail addresses from your lists. If yourreputation is damaged it not only hurtsthe deliverability of that one particularcampaign deployment, but your futuremessages as well.

Handling inactive subscribers presentsa real conundrum to e-mail marketers.On the one hand, you risk potential salesif you remove inactive subscribers fromyour list. On the other, you risk the deliv-

erability of your messages by the ISPs.With so much at stake the solution is rela-tively simple: know what causes listfatigue, follow list management best prac-tices, try to re-engage your inactivesubscribers, and if all else fails, removethem from your lists.

What causes list fatigue?There are a number of reasons

subscribers ignore or delete yourmessages. Some are preventable, somearen’t; and it is important for you to beable to tell the difference so you knowhow to handle it.

Unpreventable:Subscribers no longer fit demographic –

The unpreventable reasons are causedwhen subscribers’ needs change and theyno longer fit into your target demo-graphic. No matter how great your e-mailsare, the topic just isn’t relevant to thatsegment of your audience. This mightfrighten some marketers but it is a simplefact: people change over time. Somesubscribers will move out of your region.Some will retire and won’t need your serv-ices for their businesses. Some will go tocollege and find that they are no longerinterested in receiving e-mail updatesfrom their favorite teen boy band. Thesefluctuations are uncontrollable and shouldbe expected, and this group should beidentified and removed from your list asthey have a low probability of making apurchase and a high probability of becom-ing invalid and bouncing.

Subscriber completes goal – Anotherunpreventable reason for list fatigueoccurs after subscribers make purchasesand their needs change. For example, ifsomeone signs up to receive e-mails froma travel web site on cruises to the GreekIsles, it is likely that they will no longer beinterested in receiving information oncruises to Greece when they return fromthe trip. Some of your subscribers will beinterested in booking their next cruise

vacation to the Bahamas, some will decideto go skiing, some won’t even think aboutbooking another vacation for years. A fewmight book another cruise to Greece butwill want a 14-day cruise instead of sevenor they’ll want to visit ports they didn’t getto see the first time. Regardless, thesubscribers’ needs have changed after theinitial purchase and it is up to you tofigure out what the subscribers want.Some subscribers won’t require anythingand will fall off your list. However, youwill be able to keep many of thesesubscribers if you continue to sendmessages that are relevant to their needs.

Preventable: Message is not relevant – If you are not

targeting and segmenting your list to sendspecific, relevant messages to yoursubscribers, you will lose them. Everymessage must capture the attention ofyour subscribers and provide informationthat is useful to them. If your messagesdon’t fulfill a specific need of yoursubscribers, they will quickly stop listen-ing to you.

Subscription best practices weren’tfollowed – Your opt-in process sets thetone for all of your e-mail communica-tions. An opt-in process that is quick andeasy, yet captures the right profiling data,produces active subscribers. Confirmingyour subscribers want to join your lists

Improving your E-mail Delivery RateHow to handle inactive subscribers – re-engage or remove?

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D IGITAL Dealer INTERNET SALES Peter Martin

“… it’s up to you to

figure out how long

to keep (subscribers)

on your list and

when it’s time to

remove them.”—Peter Martin


An individual is interested in avehicle. They research the vehi-cle online endlessly. Site after

site, they peruse through all the infor-mation. To stay away from thestereotypical car sales tricks thatthey’ve been predisposed to avoid,they decide to send an e-mail inquir-ing about a specific vehicle to anumber of dealerships. This customercould have called a dealership or sim-ply driven to the local dealer morequickly. Instead, they do all of theirhomework, hoping to prepare them-selves for their inevitable purchase.Their goal is to receive informationthat will help them make the decisionbetween dealers easier. What happens?The customer’s phone rings. Sales rep-resentatives call unexpectedly andsingle-handedly shoot themselves inthe foot by not utilizing the samemedium that the customer has chosento begin communication.

Why? Just as the customer has beentrained to research and negotiate fromthe comforts of their own home, the salesassociates have been trained to disregardthe e-mail and get them on the phone.Now, let me state that I agree with thetraining of some consultants that there isa proven importance to getting acustomer on the phone. However, Idisagree with their beliefs that a call to anInternet customer comes before an e-mail. That is an antiquated anddangerous philosophy to be teachingpeople on the floor during these times. Ialso believe that a one-minute auto-responder confirming the receipt of thelead is not a worthy enough e-mail towarrant a call. A call to a customerwithout their permission and withoutwarning is often unwanted and automat-ically eliminates you from consideration.

When do you reach out to them andhow do you do so without upsettingtoday’s temperamental customers? Youmust begin by sending a detailed,

personalized e-mail with information(and pricing) regarding their exactvehicle requested, as well as some alter-native options. In this e-mail, you mustalso state, “I understand you are lookingfor this information quickly. If I do nothear from you shortly, I will be callingyou to confirm you have received this e-mail.” Ten minutes after this lengthye-mail is sent, you have earned the rightto pick up the phone and call. However,the phone call has to be under a guiseother than, “Hey…got your e-mail.When do ya wanna come in so I can sellyou this here car?” Now, I put a twang inthat call because that is what Icommonly receive while mystery shop-ping. Priceless. Instead, here is a bestpractice that I taught my staff at mydealership.

The call must be presented as, “HelloMrs./Mr. Customer, my name is ____and I am with ABC Motors. I don’tmean to bother you, but I simplywanted to ensure that you have receivedthe e-mail I sent, answering all of yourquestions.” Emphasize “your” so theyrealize they brought this call on them-selves and that you are doing them afavor. Continue with, “With all of thespam filters out there today, I needed tomake sure it landed in your inbox. I’dhate to think that you didn’t get all ofyour questions answered just because ofa mail system.” Whether they havechecked or not, once they have acknowl-edged and understand your unselfishpurpose for calling, you can say, “WhileI have you on the phone, can I ask ifyou’ve already had the opportunity totest drive this vehicle?” Then follow yournormal script/phone structure.

Your initial e-mail has provided themall of the information that they’verequested. At that point, you haveessentially done everything that theyhave asked of you and more. You gavethem a warning shot that alerted themof an impending call. Now, if you

receive an e-mail immediately backstating “no call” – or anything similar(even if you receive follow up ques-tions), I believe you should continue touse that medium. E-mail may be theirsecurity blanket. Taking that away fromthem makes you the enemy. Respecttheir wishes and continue with thatmedium of communication.

Reaching out to them in the samemethod in which they contact youshows your customers respect. We’ve allheard a customer say, “If I wanted totalk to someone in person, I wouldhave just called myself.” It’s difficult totalk yourself out of that one. I’ve tried,and more often than not, any potentialrelationship is shot at that point. Usethe customer’s chosen method ofcommunication and only call when youhave given them fair warning.Otherwise, you are liable to come offsounding like a telemarketer, or worse,the dreaded car salesperson they weretrying to sidestep.

Opening a dialogue on the phonewith the customer will forever remainimperative. What is equally important?Knowing the right time to call.

Joe Webb is the president of DealerKnowsLLC, an automotive digital marketingconsultation firm. He also recentlyfounded Dealer Signage Inc., a progressive,digital advertising network and signagecompany that allows dealers to manage themedia on their own televisions and delivertargeted digital messages to their loyal cus-tomers within their own dealership.

A Right Time to CallCall too early, and you’ll lose the sale

If you wish to discuss this article withother dealers, or with the author,please go to the “Discussion Forums”at www.DigitalDealer-magazine.comand enter the “Internet Sales” forum or e-mail him at [email protected].

D IGITAL Dealer INTERNET SALESJoe Webb


Ahh, the good old days. It’s been more than 10 years since the

Internet was going to revolutionizeretail automobile sales. Back in the late‘90s there were actually dealers lookingto sell their dealerships for fear of“Internet dealerships” putting them outof business.

Auto-by-Tel and CarsDirect.comwere the rage. Then there wasCarOrder.com, which was seeded by a$100 million investment by anothergiant dot.com. Acknowledging that theauto manufacturers would not sellthem vehicles directly, their plan was tobuy up dealerships all around thecountry, shut down their retail opera-tions, and then use them as distributionpoints for their Internet sales opera-tions. That never did work out forthem, and they became anotherdot.com casualty.

So here we are 10 years after thedot.com crash and what have welearned? One of the best lessons, whichwas rarely acknowledged during theInternet boom and bust, was the criti-cal importance of the salesperson.

The auto dot.coms attributed theirfailure to uncooperative auto manufac-turers, franchise laws, dealers steppingup with their own web sites (whowould have thought that could havehappened?), and the elimination ofadditional capital infusions. However,it was taking the salesperson out of theequation that turned out to be a criticalelement. During the dot.com boomyears there was this ubiquitous image ofa guy sitting at home at his computer at3:00 am in his underwear, surfing theInternet for a new car, clicking the“Buy” button on his dream car, andthen having the car magically appear inhis driveway in the morning.

We now look back and think howridiculous this concept was, if just froma logistics standpoint. However, it wasthe lack of a salesperson showing the

inventory, taking a test drive, workingthe numbers and closing the deal thatwas such a critical element in prevent-ing the guy in his underwear fromclicking the big red “Buy” link.

You can see simple proof of thisconcept right now in your showroom.The dream of the Internet as abottomless resource of informationhas very much become a reality. It isnow a rare exception to findcustomers that have not done someamount of research about their carpurchases on the Internet. Someprospective customers have done somuch research on their car of interestthat they come in to the showroomsometimes knowing more about thatcar than does your salesperson.

Therefore, given that the averagecustomer has nearly complete informa-tion about the car that they want, whywould the salesperson make much, ifany, difference to the sale? Yet, if youcheck your sales numbers for lastmonth, last quarter, or last year, thereare huge variations in the sales volumebetween salespeople. Do you have onesalesperson who does 20-plus cars everymonth? Do you have another one whorarely breaks 10? If the unlimited infor-mation of the Internet has created sucha level playing field, then how can thisbe the case?

The reason is that the salespersonalways has and always will play a criticalrole in the sales process. This is not aCD, a book, shoes, or even a personalcomputer; it is a big, expensive automo-bile! No one makes this decision lightly.There are options, colors, driving char-acteristics, service considerations, tradeissues, and financing and registrationquestions. Even the most educatedcustomer needs some help. Quite ofteneven the most determined buyer needssomeone to just say, “Buy the car!” Thepoint here is that as you look at yourInternet sales process, never, ever

underestimate the importance of thesalesperson.

So now more than a decade afterthis Internet party started there is stillno clear-cut way for a dealership to sellcars over the Internet. This is becausedealerships, brands, and markets areall very different, and a few differentmodels have emerged to serve thevarious needs. Let’s look at some of themost common Internet sales modelsand discuss the pros and cons. One isnot necessarily better than another; itall depends on what is best for yourdealership.

Probably the most typical Internetsales model is the dedicated Internetsalesperson. The Internet salespersongets all of their customer traffic fromInternet leads. They receive all Internetleads, make the initial contact, handlethe customer when they come into thedealership or sell the car by phoneand/or e-mail, and then deliver the car.They may be on the same payplan asthe floor salespeople or they may havea dedicated payplan. Depending onthe size of the dealership, there may beone, a few, or many dedicated Internetsalespeople. Also depending on the sizeof the dealership there may be a sepa-rate Internet department with adedicated manager, or the Internetsalespeople could report directly to thefloor sales manager.

The advantage of the dedicatedInternet salesperson approach is thatyou still have a dedicated salesperson,usually with a sales-motivatingcommission payplan, handling theInternet customers. They have the samemotivation to sell a car that any othersalesperson does. Since the Internetleads are their only source of customers,they are also motivated to focus all oftheir efforts on these leads. Anotherbenefit of this approach is that thecustomer has primarily one contactperson, which is preferred by many

Still Struggling with HandlingInternet Leads?Ten years later, and we’re still figuring it out

D IGITAL Dealer INTERNET SALESJeff Rubin

DigitalDealer-magazine.com December 2009 DD 17

customers and dealers. On the down-side, unless it is a fairly largedepartment, coverage is often an issue.If there are two Internet salespeople andone is on vacation and the other is stuckdoing a long delivery, then an incominglead can sit for a while. One absoluterule of Internet sales is that responsetime to a new lead is critical. So takecoverage into serious considerationwith this model. Another considerationis how to handle skating when anInternet lead generated prospect walksinto the showroom and is sold by afloor salesperson. Watch the number ofleads coming in and your closing rates.If more leads come in than the Internetsalespeople can handle, then they willtend to preview the leads and “cherrypick” the ones that look the best. Mostcritically, do not compromise this posi-tion by opting to put a non-salespersonin this position. Dealers had often put“computer savvy” people in the Internetsales position instead of real salespeople,yielding awful results. Internet salesrequires a very strong salesperson withgreat communications skills who canalso write reasonably well. The onlytechnical skill required is the ability toopen an e-mail or use a CRM system.Compromises in this position will costyou dearly.

The big trend over the last few yearsas an alternative to the traditionalInternet sales department is the busi-ness development center, or BDC. TheBDC model entails a dedicated depart-ment that handles all incoming Internetleads, makes the initial customercontact, and then focuses on getting thecustomer into the dealership andturned over to a floor salesperson. TheBDC may also handle all incomingphone leads in the same fashion; theymay handle some or all follow-up calls,pre-sale and post-sale; and they alsomay handle service appointments andservice follow-up. Many direct market-ing activities may fall under the BDC’sresponsibility as well. The BDC struc-ture may vary widely, however the focushere is on the BDC as applied toInternet leads.

The BDC model works on theassumption that salespeople are betterleft to dealing with customers face-to-face. Let them focus on closing dealsand leave the tedious follow-up processto specialists. By doing so, you will getmuch better control of your follow-upprocess, and you separate some of the

control that salespeople maintain overyour customers. The biggest downsideof a BDC is having multiple contactpeople at the dealership, which somecustomers don’t like. There is also theconcern that the BDC reps are possiblynot going to be particularly strongsalespeople, which may compromisetheir ability to close your Internetcustomers on an appointment. Whenconsidering a BDC model, keep inmind that tracking the BDC originatedappointments and sales can be verytricky. The BDC can also be a directpersonnel expense as opposed to acommissioned sales expense like mostother Internet models. Be particularlycareful of how you charge the deal, splita commission, or do a pack for BDCoriginated deals. This will be met withgreat resistance by your salespeople.They will work to undermine theprocess, and there exists a direct incen-tive not to disclose a deal as originatingin the BDC. Nevertheless, the BDCmodel is a very viable option and canbe very effective, particularly in largerdealerships with more resources. If youdecide to set up a BDC in your dealer-ship it is advised to find a goodconsultant to help get you going.

Probably the simplest model is just togive the Internet leads out to some orall of the salespeople on the floor. Thiscan be done by e-mail, by a managerreceiving the leads and handing themout, or through your CRM. The think-ing behind this model is “an up’s anup”; treat all potential customers thesame whether they originate as anInternet lead, a phone call, or as ashowroom prospect. In many dealer-ships this is a reasonable strategy. Aswith the dedicated Internet salespersonstrategy, the customer deals with onlyone primary contact person. Thecustomer is dealing with a commis-sioned salesperson with a vested interestin delivering the car and without theconcern of sharing any of theircommission. By distributing the leadsover a number of salespeople on thefloor, coverage and response time maybe better (but isn’t always – it still mustbe managed!) The downside is thataccountability and focus are not alwaysgreat. The floor salesperson will oftenfocus on the showroom up over theInternet lead. Given the alternatives offloor and phone traffic, the floor sales-person may be inclined to “cherry pick”only the most promising Internet leads.

Also consider the telephone skills and,particularly, the writing skills of thesalespeople receiving these leads.

Distributing leads directly to thefloor salespeople also has its logisticchallenges. Having the sales managerhand the leads out creates opportunitiesfor favoritism and creates a naturalbottleneck that will inevitably slow crit-ical response times. Distributing theleads to multiple salespeople throughOutlook is a particularly bad idea.With Outlook there is no way for oneuser to know that another user hasalready responded to a lead. Therefore,using Outlook to distribute leads tomultiple salespeople will create a situa-tion where multiple salespeople maycontact the same customer from thesame lead (which is better than no onecontacting them, but is still not a goodway to go!) The best way to distributeleads to multiple salespeople is throughyour CRM system, either in a “round-robin” or a “first-come-first-served”set-up. This leads to consistent, effi-cient lead distribution, which can alsobe tracked and monitored. All CRMsshould be able to handle some variationof these set-ups.

So these are a few of your options forhandling all of those increasinglyimportant Internet leads. You are prob-ably using some variation on one ofthese models, but in these tough timesit is probably a good idea to re-evaluatethis important part of your business.Remember that regardless of how youdecide to structure your Internet salesoperations the operative word here issales. Do not treat it as anything less.

Jeff Rubin is president and founder ofDealerServer, a state-of-the-art dealer-ship CRM and desking system. Prior toDealerServer, Rubin had been in auto-motive retail since 1987. He holds adegree in finance from the Universityat Buffalo and an MBA fromFordham University.



Each day, dealers are inundatedwith new ideas, products andtechnologies to help sell more

cars. It’s an endless stream of equip-ment they’re told they “must have” tostay on top of the ever-changingonline landscape. Trying to stay on topof these technologies sometimes leadsto more confusion, frustration and thecontinued nagging thought that theyjust can’t seem to get ahead of thecurve. It’s time to take a deep breath.

One of the easiest ways to connectwith online shoppers doesn’t comefrom the latest, greatest, “must have”product. It comes from understandingthe online buyer, what is important tothem and addressing their buyingmotivations in the way you presentyour dealership and inventory online.The greatest challenge dealers facetoday is how to continually outsmartthe online competition because this iswhere an overwhelming majority ofcar shoppers begin their vehicle search.It is easy to structure your online pres-ence around what you believe isimportant; however, structuring youronline presence around what thecustomer says is important to them ismore effective.

Sales 101 tells us to find thecustomers’ “hot buttons” and tailor ourpresentation around them. We’ve donethis for years in our product presenta-tions and walk-arounds. If the “hotbutton” is safety features, we make surethey know all about the ConsumerReports’ safety records and crash testresults of their model of interest. Wealso make sure the customer is aware ofthe features our car has over othercompetitive models and how theseelements address their concerns. Ifeconomy is a concern, we make surethey know about the EPA mileage esti-mates and compare them to similar, lessfavorable competitors.

The same should be done in address-ing the motivations customers have forusing the Internet as a major source insatisfying their car shopping needs.Making sure your online presentationcaters to customers who prefer to shoponline first rather than the showroom is

pivotal. The purpose of your onlinepresentation is to encourage consumersto visit your dealership rather than yourcompetitors’. Annual studies have beendone by various major sources outlin-ing customer response to what they saycauses them to move confidently in oneparticular dealer’s direction.

They tell us the major motivationsand perceived benefits of using theInternet to help decide what to buy andwhere to buy it. If you look at thesestatistical surveys, you’ll see an overrid-ing theme. Many customers’ decision to

use the Internet revolves around fivemain areas or “hot buttons” if you will.To make a connection with thecustomer, to have them move confi-dently toward your dealership, it’simportant to provide solutions to thecustomer in each of these five areas.

Save time: Customers are busy andlook for sites offering all of the toolsthey need to make a comfortablebuying decision. Once found, theymigrate back continually as theyresearch models, pricing, etc. Makesure you are represented on the sitesmost visited by customers during theshopping process. Some of the most-visited consumer sites even offerexclusivity to dealers to represent theirmake of car/dealership in a particularmarket. A recent survey showed thatshoppers begin using the Internet 12.4weeks prior to purchase and finallydecide on a model five weeks prior tobuying. This means they are influencedfor 7.4 weeks while using the web todecide what to buy and where to buyit. Be the dealer to outsmart thecompetition and drive these customersto your dealership.

Level the playing field: Most willagree that your highest closing percent-ages come from those leads derivedfrom your own dealership web site.Your web site should provide the infor-mation the customer needs to see inorder to feel comfortable to take actionand submit a lead. Your site also shouldcontain complete new- and pre-ownedinventory photos with detailed “seller’snotes” and pricing on each vehicle ininventory. In addition, the site shouldprovide access to trade-in values; if itdoesn’t then consumers will leave yoursite to find the information elsewherewith no guarantee they will return.

Online Buyers Have Wants AlsoFind what drives the customer, then sell to it

continued on P-DD29

D IGITAL Dealer INTERNET SALESRob Lange

“To make a connection

with the customer, to

have them move

confidently toward

your dealership, it’s

important to provide

solutions to the

customer in each of

these five areas.”—Rob Lange


cern—followed by the invitation tovisit the dealership for a test drive.• Follow-up e-mails and phone mes-sages over the ensuing five days if thecustomer doesn’t immediately come in.• Confirmation of a test drive date andtime.• Once the customer comes into thedealership, a hearty welcome, discus-sion of product requirements, “lotwalk”, test drive and sale if possible. • And if not, an ongoing e-mail fol-low-up campaign that encourages thecustomer to respond when she is backin the market and ready to buy.

The problem, of course, is that lifein a dealership is complicated. Manyconflicting demands draw upon thetime and attentions of every Internetsalesperson, ISM, ISD and GSM.Leads come in at the worst possibletime—when everyone is engaged withother customers, for instance—andlanguish in ILM / CRM in-boxes. Toooften, a salesperson with time toanswer just one lead but with four inthe queue will just answer the freshestlead; the others go stale and eventuallyunanswered.

To address the monumental chal-lenge of an effective and rapid price

quote response, a new category oftechnology solutions has emerged:Digital Response Management(DRM). DRM vendors deliver solu-tions that ensure the dealer canexecute very rapid price quoteresponses on incoming leads.

A comprehensive DRM solutiondelivers at least the following:• A very rapid price quote response toa customer inquiry• Personalization of the message • Tools to support dealer pricing • A brand-strengthening consumermessage • New and used vehicles presented• High message deliverability (avoidsspam filters, etc.)

DRM providers attack a problemthat has bedeviled dealers for 15 years:the ability to send a price quoteresponse back to a customer rightaway. Increasingly, progressive dealerswill ask their partners in dealer 20groups, “What is your DRM system?”It won’t be long before all effectivedealers will have at least one.

Tom Mohr is the president and CEO ofResponseLogix, the leading provider ofautomotive digital response managementsoftware for Internet leads

How to Respond to Leads the Right WaySpeed and the right information increase potential for the sale


D IGITAL Dealer INTERNET SALESTom Mohr

Nothing matters if a lead isn’t properlyanswered.

No SEO or SEM, no mobile apps,no 360 degree views of the car on yourwebsite, no amount of third partylead-buying matters if you can’t getback to a customer right away with aquote. Too often, dealers underesti-mate this vital “blocking and tackling”step, pursuing all kinds of sexy strate-gies to gin up lead volume. They fail torecognize that if a lead isn’t properlyanswered, lead volume is meaningless.

The arrival of an incoming leadrepresents “the moment of truth.” Thepoint of lead arrival signifies themoment when a customer has decidedto put three to four dealers on trial.Who has a fair price? Who has what Iwant in stock? Who will give me thebest service? Who can I trust? How thedealer responds in the minutes orhours after the lead arrives shapes thecustomer’s view of that dealership.

The simple fact is, according to astudy by the Cobalt Group, that 25%of all leads don’t get answered at all.And the average response time onleads that do receive a response is overfive hours. For the consumer sitting ather computer waiting for a quote,these facts stagger. Why, she thinks,should it be so difficult to find a dealerwho wants my $25,000?

Creating an optimal end-to-endcustomer experience thatenhances a dealer’s sellingpotential involves:• A customer sending in a lead• An immediate, personalized e-mailresponse back to the customer, show-ing price quotes on multiple new andpre-owned alternatives surroundingher request.• A phone connection within onehour, confirming the customer’sreceipt of the quote and probing forareas of interest, confusion or con-

“Too often, a

salesperson with time

to answer just one lead

but with four in the

queue will just answer

the freshest lead.”—Tom Mohr


Is your web site tailor-made for yourtarget audience, or is it “just anotherdealer web site?” Consumers look to

the Internet when conducting researchon products they’re interested in buy-ing. In fact, a report from ForresterResearch, Inc. indicated just over 83million adults hop online to find moreinformation about potential purchases,which is why you need a robust web sitethat delivers exactly what car shoppersare looking for.

To reach out to your online audience,you need to break away from standarddesign molds and make sure to takeadvantage of the many consumer toolsavailable today. By combining the beautyof sleek web site design with the brainsand functionality of consumer-orientedtools, your web site will offer a rich userexperience, and you’ll see an increase inlead activity.

Begin by shaping your online presencewith a solid search engine optimizationcampaign to attract shoppers to your website. Focus on including keyword-richcontent on each page while ensuring thetitle and meta tags contain the appropri-ate information. Remember, when itcomes to the structure of your web site,it’s not about the quantity of pageswithin your site, but the quality ofcontent on each page.

Developing your SEO strategies is agreat start toward building a strong onlinepresence, but it’s only the first of manysteps necessary to increase online leads.

Once shoppers make it to your website, it’s crucial for you to have contentthat will keep them there versus headingto an OEM or third-party site for addi-tional information. The value of the toolsoffered by your web site provider lies intheir ability to produce beautifullycustomized and highly interactive websites—meaning yours is unique to yourdealership, not identical to the web site ofthe dealership down the street.

Many platforms have specific areas that

can be edited within the control panel ofyour site. You can easily make your sitestand out from other dealer web sites bydisplaying images on your homepage thatare unique to your business. For example,rotate photos of your dealership, lot andshowroom. Or further personalize yoursite by choosing specific images to be usedas buttons on your homepage andpresenting additional links that mightinterest your shoppers.

You can also use the control panel tomonitor your web site’s stats, includ-ing how visitors got to your site, howlong they were there and which pagesthey viewed. This information comesin handy when it’s time to makecontent changes.

Another feature that will improve theshopper’s experience is the ability toeasily compare the details of multiplevehicles. Mintel’s report, AutomobilePurchase Process, says 74% of respon-dents used the Internet to researchvehicle features and options. Make it easyfor your shoppers to see what options areavailable within your inventory by offer-ing a tool that allows them to select andview vehicles side by side.

Take it a step further by allowingyour site’s visitors to build their ownvehicles. If they configure one that’snot in your inventory, you have theopportunity to offer similar vehiclesthat you have available, or you can findthat vehicle at another dealership andhave it transported to your store for thecustomer.

Finally, but most importantly, youshould always be running up-to-datespecials. This is the gold that car shoppersare searching for on dealer web sites.Create attractive coupons and place themprominently on your homepage. Somepromotions tools allow you to alsodisplay an icon in your inventory listingsto alert shoppers that specific vehicles areon sale.

If you have access to features like theseand aren’t utilizing them, then shoppersare guaranteed to look elsewhere. Contactyour web site provider to get started withthese tools and ask to see what else theyhave on the menu that will take your website to the next level.

Once you start adding these elementsto your web site, you’ll enrich yourshopper’s online experience, and you’llsee positive results in the form of morecar sales.

Paige Presley is the marketing ana-lyst/writer for Dealerskins in Nashville,TN. She enjoys mixing her passions forall things technology and for followingconsumer trends by staying involved inmarket research for the auto industry.

Ways to Create a ‘Sticky’ Web SiteUse tools to create the ultimate online shopping experience

If you wish to discuss this article withother dealers, or with the author,please go to the “Discussion Forums”at www.DigitalDealer-magazine.comand enter the “Internet Sales” forum or e-mail her at [email protected].

D IGITAL Dealer INTERNET SALESPaige Presley

“To reach out to your

online audience, you

need to break away

from standard design

molds and make sure to

take advantage of the

many consumer tools

available today.”—Paige Presley


Jose AlonsoInternet

e-Commerce Director

Jenkins Auto Group

Jose AlonsoInternet

e-Commerce Director

Jenkins Auto Group

Jose Alonso, Internet e-Commerce Director for South Florida’s Jenkins Auto

Group, is quick to acknowledge that he’s living the American dream, and even in

this tough market he’s having a fine time exploring the boundaries of selling cars

on the Internet. While he says the group’s market has fluctuated some in the past

year, it’s been able to leverage the Internet to increase web site traffic 70%, push

up first-party lead generation 50%, and increase lead to sales conversion 40%. A

big shift from traditional to Internet advertising has helped, says Alonso, but so

has a willingness to adapt, a sharp focus on follow up and lead management, and

a keen eye for what works and what’s mostly hype.

D IGITAL Dealer COVER STORY


JOSE, TELL ME WHAT FIRST ATTRACTEDYOU TO THE AUTO INDUSTRY.

I love sales and cars. Every client isdifferent and I love the challenge. I gotinto the car business around 2001. Ialways had a passion for cars. Before Iwent into the car business I used to buyand trade cars every three months. I wasa general manager for a well-knownsporting goods store. A GM for a deal-ership knew me and mentioned acouple of times that I would be a goodcar salesman, so I decided to do it andstarted with his Chevrolet store inGainesville, FL. Then I went to aLincoln store and then onto Honda inOcala, FL, then to Toyota in Ocala. Icame to the United States from Cuba at14 years old. I didn’t know the languageand had to start working early. By 17 Iwas in management for an office supplycompany in Miami and really havebeen a manager and leader my entirelife. I always saw the opportunity andmade the most out of it. I know I haveachieved the American dream and thatI’m blessed.

How did you land as e-commercedirector for the Jenkins AutoGroup?

I was working for a Toyota dealershipacross the street when I wasapproached for some advice about theInternet by the GM of one of theJenkins dealerships. That advice led toan offer to develop all five Internetdepartments for the JenkinsAutomotive Group and here I am. Istarted January 12 of this year.

Give me an overview of the group. The group includes five dealerships –

Acura, Mazda, three Hyundai storesand a pre-owned center – all located inNorth Central and South Florida.

Was the group using technologysmartly when you arrived?

No. The tools that they had in placewere old and they were not measuringanything, just buying, and nobody,with the exception of one store, hadany idea how to sell cars on the

Internet. Some were selling two orthree a month and some 15 or 20 amonth at the most, but a lot of thosewere repeat customers.So how important are Internetsales at the Jenkins Group today?

We are very Internet oriented. Inmost of our dealerships, Internet salesmake up 30% to 40% of sales, purelyonline sales. Understand that when Isay 30% to 40% that means the onesthat are tracking online, not the oneswho say they saw your vehicle online ata third-party site. Customers whocome in will say, “Listen, I went toyour web site,” but I’m not countingthose. That’s part of the advertising.And we’re moving forward. We justhad an Internet boot camp with ADPto get everyone on board with theInternet process.

Explain what has happened toyour sales in this tough marketand how your business hasresponded.

Our market has fluctuated some inrecent times, but we have been blessedto hold our own by using the latesttechnology wisely. For example, in thepast year we’ve increased web site trafficby 70%, increased first-party leadgeneration by 50%, and increased leadto sales conversion by 40%. Westopped most traditional advertisingand now focus almost entirely onInternet marketing. We were spendingan average of $50K per month ontraditional media, but now we averageonly about $7K per month online, butaverage 165 to 200 Internet vehiclesales per month. That’s a 50% increasefrom a year ago. I think our biggestproblem now is handling the increasedlead volume. Some Internet reps arehandling as many as 130 leads permonth. We’ve managed to increase ouronline success by improving follow upand creating a work flow for every lead.

Why have you shifted so much ofyour marketing effort?

First of all, you can measure it onlineand second, when we spend $9,000 on

a mailer it’s very hard to track the salesit generated. We’re moving towarddecreasing traditional media across thegroup and moving toward increasingInternet advertising. For the wholegroup we’ve probably cut back tradi-tional marketing about 30% and I’mtargeting even more.

What’s your process for receivingand distributing Internet leads?

The leads go into our CRM and arethen transferred to an Internet salesper-son with a work flow attached. Startingin November we converted to a BDC.Now we have an Internet manager anda staff of two to six people, in everystore. The manager gets the lead andassigns it to a particular salespersondepending on the lead. Some used leadsgo to the person who’s good at that,new to someone else. When a leadcomes in it has a 35-day work flow,either an e-mail or a phone callattached to it, which means you have tocomplete your task in order to get tothe next one, so you can’t let a lead sitthere. So now we get to a lead withinthree minutes to 10 minutes. We have aperfect system in place.

The problem we have is that ourInternet managers are so busy that 30%of our phone calls are going right intovoice mail, and I can’t have that. So, onNovember 1 we started the BDC forthe Acura, Mazda and Ocala Hyundaiout of Ocala. Hyundai in Bradenton.The Leesburg store will have its ownBDC. Any web related phone calls willgo right to the BDC, which will strictlyset up an appointment, and will beconfirmed by the Internet manager atthat store. Their job will be strictlyappointments. Somebody in that BDCwill be able to answer any questionsthat might arise. They will have a scriptto follow 100% of the time. This allowsmy Internet managers to have moretime to get involved with the sales andpush for closings, answer questions,that type of stuff.

Do you have one or several websites?


Are you using social networking?What are your feelings about itspotential?

Yes, we use some social networking,but it’s not our primary interest. We’veused Twitter, My Space, Facebook andblogs, but considering the amount ofwork that it takes to keep the socialnetworks updated, the return is justnot there. I cannot justify the time andeffort. People don’t go there to buycars; they go there to meet people andsocialize. People can tell me all theywant about how good they thinksocial networking is, but show menumbers. I’m a numbers guy. I did itand monitored my clicks fromMySpace and it’s two clicks versus 300from Google and Bing.

What useful new technologytrends are you spotting?

Web site customer reviews.Whenever I go to buy something I domy research; I want to know whatpeople are saying about what I’mbuying and I want to make smart deci-sions. This is what people who arebuying cars do. They want to knowhow you treat people at your dealer-ship. I have had customers who havedriven 150 miles because they arecomfortable with our ratings. In everystore I’m Dealerrater.com certified.You’re able to see your negative and

We have one splash page, five dealer-ship web sites and a web site for ourcollision center.

What lead generation tools workbest on your sites?

My best leads are from our own website, generated by Google keywordcampaigns.

How do you use SEO?I have Google, Yahoo and Bing

campaigns for each dealership, which Imanage myself. To find the bestkeywords I follow Google Analyticsand use ActivEngage.

Is e-mail an important elementfor your group?

We use an e-newsletter as well asour own e-mail campaigns. It’s impor-tant. We have a company that we’retesting in two stores now for e-newsletters. There are pros and cons.You get a lot of action to the web sitethe day the newsletter goes out butthen it dies out. I have a companythat I’m doing my specials on, a verynice landing page with its own URL.I’m able to copy and send this in abulk e-mail at any time. This is some-thing that I’m going to be trying.When we do send the newsletter outwe get some sales and future traffic toour web site.

DEALERSHIP PARTNERS IN PROFIT:

Dealership name:Jenkins Auto Group

Web site URLs:donjenkinsautogroup.com

Vehicle Marketing:Dealer Specialties

DMS provider: Reynolds & Reynolds

CRM program:E-Lead

Vehicle valuation tools: BlackBook

Online lead generators not including the OEMsources: AutobytelDealix

Vehicle history reports:Carfax

positive reviews and you have 10 daysto try to work something out with acustomer if you have a bad review. Ithink this is something that is going tobe big.

What would you say sets youapart as a dealer?

We are constantly looking for newways to improve. I never get comfort-able. I have surrounded myself with alot of Internet savvy people on thecutting edge of technology. It’s chang-ing on a weekly basis. Just when youthink you have a technology working –here comes something else that’s better.It never stops and I never stop and I’veseen through the years, things thatwork great and things that don’t workat all. Here’s a perfect example. A fewyears ago I was huge buying secondaryleads. But it’s not working in my stores.I still talk to people because when themarket changes I want to go back intoit but right now everything is changing.I adjust to these changes and I have theback up of my owners and CEO. We allknow the reason that the dinosaurs dieis that they cannot adapt. Take a look athow much technology has changed inthe last three years. Every single one ofus, when we need something, we go tothe Internet to search.

What’s your typical work weeklike?

Non-stop. It takes dedication to dothis job. Really, I probably work 14 to16 hours a day. Its not hard labor buteven when I get home I have threemonitors in front of me and a mininotebook and I’m able to monitoreverything that goes on in the stores –and there are technical issues all thetime. But I still have fun and still dowhat I like to do and I’m blessed to sayI live a very good life.

What do you do to relax?I do off-road cycling and racquet-

ball, but I always have my mobiledevice with me and it really is non-stop so I don’t get a lot of time to relax.The biggest thing that I have is thesupport of my owner and my generalmanager. If you don’t have thatsupport you’re just chasing your tailand that’s probably why I can say I’mstill having fun.

[email protected]


Think how we’d be able to sellfaster and better if we knewmore information about our

customers. My friend Tommy sent methe a link of a video where the localpizza delivery service is able look up acaller's medical records, employmenthistory, credit card purchases andtravel plans. After noticing that thecaller recently purchased a pair of 42-inch khakis, the pizza deliveryemployee suggests he change his orderto a low fat “sprout submarine combo”instead of his usual double meat pizza.

This scenario is on the ACLU’s website (search for “pizza”)http://aclu.org/pizza/images/screen.swf.Many of us might miss the “bigbrother” message and instead see adream software application that wewish was available to help sell morecars. Believe it or not, we do have lotsof information about our customers atour fingertips. Using that data was thetopic of my seminar at this year’sDigital Dealer Conference in Nashville.

I showed the audience how toaugment the data already on yourDMS system with simple Internetsearches. I showed the attendees wherethat data is on your DMS system andwhere it comes from and how to matchup the customer in your DMS systemto the one you find on the Internet.

Using the ADP system as myexample, I displayed the full customerview that shows prior sales, service, andparts and current appointments andopen transactions. For years, we’verestricted the sales department access tothe DMS system. Now is the time toprovide your sales department with thisvaluable DMS customer view.

I used my dear Aunt Madenia as anexample because she bought her 2001Alero from Gosch Auto at their InlandChevy store, and she is a regular servicecustomer. In fact, she brought her car in

last month for an oil change. I don’thave access to their DMS system, but Iknow that Inland Chevy can access thebig five: address, phone, last servicedate, last sales date, and vehicle descrip-tion. With a little data mining andbased on her last sales date and a recentservice date, she should be showing upas a contact for a salesperson. What elsecan that salesperson learn about myAunt Madenia without calling me?

I did a simple Google search on herfirst and last name and learned thatshe’s on the City Council committeefor the restoration of a historicalmansion. Customers like it that youknow and recognize their charitableand civic work, but that must alsomean a lot of meetings, hauling stuffaround, and fundraising. What if shegot a 2010 Traverse instead of herAlero? What can I find out about her2001 Alero? An Internet search tellsme that it gets 23 miles per gallon, butif you look a little deeper in consumerreports – it has poor rear visibility anda poor rear seat entrance. You can alsoquickly get its current book valueusing the vehicle information in theDMS system. You can enter her

How to Find and Use Customer DataA little bit of data can tell you a lot about a customer

If you wish to discuss this article withother dealers, or with the author,please go to the “Discussion Forums”at www.DigitalDealer-magazine.comand enter the “Technology” forum or e-mail her at [email protected].

D IGITAL Dealer TECHNOLOGY TRENDSSandi Jerome

“Now is the time

to provide your

sales department

with this valuable

DMS customer view.” —Sandi Jerome

address in Trulia and discover thatshe’s owned her house for many years,how much she paid for it and find herneighborhood is maybe close to youraunt or friend.

I read a few more articles fromGoogle and found out that she wasmaking jelly to sell as a fundraiser forthe museum and got help from herdaughters – so that rear seat accessmight be an issue. Going back to yourDMS system, we do know that shecame in last month for an oil change,but why? Did she get a letter, e-mail ordid someone call her? Are we keepingtrack of which method of contactworks best for your customers? Whensomeone makes an appointment – weneed to know how the appointmentwas made – so that the most successfulmethod is used next time. What typeof work has been done on the Alero?When is her next service appointment?Will a salesperson be notified? Itdoesn’t matter whether you’re workingwith an Internet lead or doing yourdata mining of the customer data – thebest salespeople will know theircustomer before making that call orsending that e-mail.

Sandi Jerome is a former controller,CFO, system administrator, F&I, assis-tant GM, and fixed operations managerwith over 20 years experience in the auto-motive industry. She is the owner of SandiJerome Computer Consulting.


Funny how dealers run their businessso differently. In October I wrote abouta manager who finds great joy inputting his people down and keepingthem down.

Every day this guy could say not onegood thing about anyone; he onlyspoke about how great he was as a sales-person, a sales manager, and a GSM.

Incidentally, I have received morecorrespondence about this article thanany I have written over the last fouryears. Sadly, I am hearing that there aretons of these guys out there tearingdown stores by treating their people theexact same way. Sitting atop a perchthey use past successes as their platforminstead of stepping stones, and as aconsequence everything is tumblingdown. Some of the reports I receivedeven included these managers treatingcustomers with the same disrespect.

Unbelievable. And we wonder howour industry has earned such a horri-ble reputation in the prospect’s eyes.Here is the sad truth: if managers treattheir salespeople and staff with disre-spect and tear down their sprits, it willmost definitely transfer to thecustomer as well.

OK, enough of the horrific manage-ment. Let’s turn our attention to thegood side of solid leadership. I justspent a week in Minnesota at a storethat recognized they could be betterand wanted to do something about it.The key here is that this dealership hasan owner who not only cared about hisbusiness, but also truly cared about hispeople, so he elected to help thembecome their best. I applauded theirinsight in recognizing that there areproductive measures, which can betaken to ensure growth in people, unitsales, and gross profits. My commit-ment to them was to bring to the storethe elements for creating strong leader-ship and sales team growth, wherebythe people would be offered the finest

techniques to stretch their knowledgethrough strong CRM processes. Itshould be all about your store’s people,processes and functionality as theyintertwine into growing your businessinto a strong entity.

Below I will recount for you what wedid and what you can and should bedoing to enhance your team’s well beingand how to increase your business at the

same time. Your primary areas ofconcerns should revolve around essen-tially three components: CRM andprocess analysis of the dealership,management leadership developmentand 21st century sales training.

AssessmentDay one was spent evaluating the

entire total dealership front-end align-ment and analysis: identifyingstrengths and weaknesses, interviewingstaff, recommending new training andprocesses and offering some adjust-ments toward enhanced totalfront-end CRM alignment. Thisunveiled a road map for us to imple-ment. This alignment stage usuallybegins with a managers’ meeting todiscuss the new and improvedprocesses and the initiatives, whichneed to be taken by each manager. Weget confirmation and buy-in from themanagement team before we everdeliver the good news to the salesteam. We looked at current processes,BDC considerations, Internet depart-ment, advertising, methods of

conducting workflow and costcontainment ideas. The curriculumsthen not only enriched knowledgeimmediately, but also gave a solid plat-form of information to reuse over andover again as new people come onboard or just as a refresher. So, it is thegift that keeps on giving. The interest-ing thing about Internet departmentsbeing productive is it is not necessarily

about the web site as much as it isabout the process and personnel.

Leadership workshopThe management team then

reviewed the newly discovered processimprovements identified on Mondayand attended a leadership workshop.We adopted and obtained the “buy-in” and commitment frommanagement to champion the newprocesses. We then conducted severalmanagement leadership workshopcurriculums to instill the methodolo-gies that truly make a leader in ourbusiness. Total team processes is thecore to success so we had everymanager involved, not just salespeo-ple. The reason why is that if theyhave even one direct report they needleadership skills. This providesmanagement with a keen insight ashow to lead, set up and maintainCRM processes. We then conductedseveral leadership training curricu-lums, which engaged and challengedmanagement in their roles as leaders,as well as additional instruction and

What Type of Manager Are You?Care about your employees and they will care about your customers

D IGITAL Dealer BDC/CRMChuck Barker

“If managers treat their salespeople and staff

with disrespect and tear down their spirits, it will

most definitely transfer to the customer as well.”—Chuck Barker


ideas on how to capitalize on theseright now to make a difference.

CRM enhanced skills workshopIn these curriculums it is imperative

that you cover behavior profiling(selling customers the way they want tobe sold according to their personality),proper incoming phone inquiries, newways to implement follow-up strategies,objection handling and 21st centurycommunications skills (negotiating andaligning with the customer). For all ofthe aforementioned you will have toprovide the buy-in for the processes andwhat it will do for them personally aswell as the team.

Spending quality time with your salesteam in this format will be a huge confi-dence booster for your entire team andcreates a team spirit that is unshakable.Your training must include the entiresales department’s personnel, manage-ment included. Every curriculum has tobe tailored and designed includingleading edge and new school strategies.

And, it must provide your store withimmediate measurable sales growth.

The time is so critically right to makethe decision to implement these posi-tive growth changes in your storebecause you will have a distinct advan-tage over your competitors becausemost of them just don’t get it and neverwill. Your team and your customers willrespond in very positive and surprisingways. It will get you well through thewinter, spring and the next several yearsand reduce attrition because yourpeople are growing and making money.And that is a great thing! So, it beingChristmas time why not go ahead andgive your team the priceless gift ofgrowing? Merry Christmas to you, yourteam and your families.

If you are interested in receivingmore enriching ideas that you canemploy now, send me an e-mail [email protected] I will get them out to you. Also, ifyou have a similar story I would love tohear about it, confidentially of course.

Chuck Barker’s experience ranges froman executive with a Fortune 200 com-puter corporation to the automobilebusiness. He has held positions as businessdevelopment manager, sales manager, act-ing GM, ADP executive regionalmanager specializing in CRM and hisown current company, Impact Marketing& Consulting Group, LLC, located inVirginia. His firm delivers CRM processstrategies, 21st century CRM sales train-ing, CRM e-business deployment andCRM management leadership workshops.More information can be located at hisweb site: www.impactgroupcrm.com.

If you wish to discuss this article withother dealers, or with the author,please go to the “Discussion Forums”at www.DigitalDealer-magazine.comand enter the “BDC/CRM” forum or e-mail him at [email protected].


wasn’t someone you’d hold accountablefor the success of your business.“Surprise, surprise, surprise!”

Hiring more qualified salespeople isthe ideal solution, but frequent staffturnover creates its own headaches.Here are some ways you can optimizeyour sales area to improve customerrelations and close more deals:

• Use your F&I manager to closedeals – If your F&I manager isn’t tiedup with a customer in the financeoffice, use him to close deals. I often seesales managers running themselvesragged on the floor while F&I staff waitfor customers.

• Never condone lack of ability –Keep your salespeople on their toes. Ifnecessary, turn deals over to your seniorsalespeople to get the close. This willmake the weak work harder and thestronger want to prove to you they canmake the sale.

• Automate your processes – If youcan’t hire more qualified and experi-enced people, automate as manyprocesses as you can. For example, use avoice mail system that lets you generateautomated calls thanking customers fortheir business or other appropriatemessages. This includes both sales andservice. The system should also allowyou to provide an immediate, liveresponse if the customer needs help orhas had a bad experience.

• Use e-mail follow-up – You shouldhave e-mails for 70% of yourcustomers. If not, put a process in placethat routinely collects them.

• Create a “why me?” story – What isspecial or unique about your store? List

all of the reasons why someone wouldwant to do business with you. Develop“why me?” phone scripts and e-mailtemplates. Incorporate your “why me?”story into voice messages, direct mailand advertising.

• Listen to phone calls – 60 to 70%of your business comes through e-mailor phone. Capture and listen to thesales calls being made in your store. Usethese calls to better train your staff.

• Hire an outside firm to follow-upwith customers – Good follow-up willalways pay for itself. When a dealdoesn’t close, there are many dealersthat simply log into their CRM and hitthe unsold button to automaticallytransfer the deal data to an outsidecompany that specializes in follow-up.

Don’t set up your store for failurewith poorly trained staff. If you can’thire more qualified personnel, startimplementing processes that get resultsregardless, despite any sales floor weak-nesses. Automate everything you can tocreate a “no-fail” system that generatesmore sales and profits.

Guy Manasse is president of DealerUps.Since 1993, he has been deeply involvedin leveraging the Internet and CRM tech-nology to streamline and increase theefficiency of dealership processes.

Increase Profits Despite Sales Floor WeaknessesWays to optimize your sales efforts with less staff

If you wish to discuss this article withother dealers, or with the author,please go to the “Discussion Forums”at www.DigitalDealer-magazine.comand enter the “BDC/CRM” forum or e-mail him at [email protected].

D IGITAL Dealer BDC/CRMGuy Manasse

Why do customers walk out ofyour dealership unsold? Insome cases the answer is

salespeople who don’t understand thereal buying or non-buying signals ofthe customer, and who lack the com-munication skills needed to effectivelysell your store.

With more dealerships runningleaner operations, poorly trained staff isbecoming a growing problem thatimpacts advertising ROI, be-backopportunities, referrals and, mostimportantly, repeat customers – yourlifeline to the future. Even dealershipswith good follow-up processes in placeare losing income because of personnelwho simply don’t know how tocommunicate with customers.

It’s what I call the “Gomer PyleSyndrome.” For those of you too youngto remember, Gomer Pyle was theawkward but good-natured automechanic on The Andy Griffith Showsitcom that aired in the ‘60s. Everybodyloved simple-minded Gomer, but he

“Even dealerships with

good follow-up

processes in place are

losing income because

of personnel who

simply don’t know how

to communicate

with customers.”—Guy Manasse


I respect the dealers who refuse to surren-der to the pressures of the market. As oneSaturn dealer put it, going out of business isnot an option. If you are going to survivetoday, you had better love this industry. Howdo the progressive dealers find out aboutnew concepts and opportunities? How can adealer reinvent himself to become moreprogressive with online initiatives?

1. Create an atmosphere where youremployees are bringing up ideas to driveonline initiatives. Be bold and willing totest ideas. Facilitate meetings with SEOand SEM consultants and your manage-ment team to discuss ideas.

2. Listen to the 20-year-old kids. Theyhave insight beyond the understanding ofthose over the age of 40.

3. Attend several conferences focused onthe Internet. The Digital DealerConferences are great starting points.They are held twice a year.

4. If you are the general manager, getinvolved. Don’t simply delegate and don’tbe intimidated by those who are ahead ofyou from a knowledge perspective.

5. Master, define and measure the keymetrics. You will improve by simplymeasuring results.

6. Tie bonuses to results with the metricswith the appropriate members.

7. Don’t allow negative thinking with theold guard salespeople or sales managers.Teams that are divided will never make it.

So what type of dealer, GM or Internetmanager are you? Do you fall into the listof dealers recognized for their creativity ordo you fall into the category of thosemaking bad predictions about yourfuture? It becomes a self-fulfillingprophecy either way.

Phil Sura is a VP of the AutomotiveDivision of UnityWorks Media.

Solve the problem: People buy for avariety of reasons. Your dealershipneeds to stand out as a dealership withthe ability to solve unusual situations(i.e. owe more than trade-in is worth,credit issues, need to downsize/upsizetransportation needs). Sell your dealer-ship as the creative solution to arousecuriosity. Get away from a cookie-cutter presentation online and becreative. If they’ve seen comparablesites before, they’re likely to glance itover rather than engage in what youhave to offer.

Reduce stress: Surveys show thebiggest reason customers do not submitan online request for information is fearof being contacted by a dealer. Theybelieve that if their request was gener-ated online, so should the response.Master the art of e-mail and chatcommunication, allowing customers tostay in their comfort zone until rapporthas been established and they arewilling to personally engage.

Fulfill the “desire to win”:Customers naturally maintain a “beatthe system” mentality. They hope thatby taking a different road to the solu-tion, in this case the Internet, they mayuncover the “holy grail,” giving them aperceived better deal than available onthe showroom floor. Establish themessage that your offer is “better, easieror more” and that they need to see youprior to making a decision. Video testi-monials also are a great way to engagenew prospects.

Understanding and supporting thebuying motivations of online carshoppers doesn’t have to be anarduous task. Instead, discover whatconsumers are looking for in a dealer-ship and in the car shoppingexperience, and use it to furtherpromote your business.

Rob Lange is the national sales trainingdirector for Kelley Blue Book.

through a double opt-in process canincrease activity by 20 percent or moreand greatly extends your retention rate.

E-mail best practices aren’t followed – Itshould go without saying that you willlose your audience if your e-mails don’tfollow best practices. If your messagesaren’t branded properly, contain brokenlinks, have weak subject lines, unappeal-ing content, or ineffective offers buriedbelow the fold, you aren’t giving yoursubscribers a reason to read the e-mails.

Frequency isn’t satisfactory – Are yousending e-mails to your subscribers everyday when they expected to hear from youonce a month? Are you sending e-mailsevery quarter and your subscribers areforgetting that they opted-in to your list?If you aren’t sending your messages at theright time schedule, your subscribers willstop paying attention to you.

E-mail addresses are invalid – Whileyou cannot control the fact thatsubscribers frequently change their e-mail addresses without updating yourpreference center with their new contactinformation or even unsubscribing theold e-mail addresses from your list, youcan minimize the risk of mailing toinvalid e-mails through list manage-ment best practices such as bouncemanagement, list hygiene, and moni-toring complaints.

The important thing to remember isthat even if you fix all of the preventablecauses of list fatigue you will still have anumber of inactive subscribers on yourlist. Then, it’s up to you to figure out howlong to keep them on your list and whenit’s time to remove them. Next month wewill discuss identifying inactive subscribersand how to re-engage them.

Peter Martin is the CEO of Cactus SkyCommunications, Inc., a premier e-mailmarketing agency. He regularly speaks andtrains for National Auto DealersAssociation on both e-Marketing and onspecial finance marketing. He is also thefounder of AskPatty.com, a popular auto-motive advice site and is the foremostauthority on how to sell cars to women.



Internet Sales, Sura (continued from P-DD10) Internet Sales, Martin (continued from P-DD12) Internet Sales, Lange (continued from P-DD18)


Advertiser ......................pg #

ActivEngage ......................13

Autobase ............................7

AutoPoint ..........................19

AutoSoft ............................27

AutoUSA............................31

cars.com ............................11

DealerPeak (Widestorm) ....4

Homenet..............................9

IMN Loyalty Driver............15

NADA Used Car Guide........5

ResponseLogix ....................3


helps them narrow down their vehiclechoices (50%).

• When asked about their motivationfor purchasing or leasing a new vehicle,out of 24 reasons for making a vehiclechange, the majority were needs-based. Ofparticular note, 23% wanted better gasmileage, 8% wanted more seating capacity,6% wanted more leg or head room and4% wanted off-road or towing capacity.

• 39% were brand-loyal, choosing tokeep the same vehicle brand and/ormanufacturer that they had before. Inaddition, 37% were dealer-loyal, choosingto purchase from a dealer that had sold tothem or someone they knew in the past.

• 64% used a manufacturer’s websitewhen researching their vehicle online;54% used a search engine; 43% used athird-party or portal site; and 34% used alocal dealer’s website.

•Those who used a manufacturer’s website said the three things that most influ-enced their recent purchase or lease werethe price of the vehicle with theirpreferred equipment selections, the abilityto find the vehicle that matched theirneeds in inventory at a local dealership,and vehicle specifications.

• People who used a dealer’s web sitesaid the top two things that influencedthem were the same as on a manufac-turer’s site, but the third was that thevehicle looked best in side-by-sidecomparisons.

• On third-party web sites, vehiclespecifications and positive expert ratingswere the top influencers, followed by posi-tive consumer ratings.

Raj Sundaram, senior vice president,solutions and services group atDealerTrack, commented, “While it haslong been clear that many consumersprefer to use the Internet when researchinga new vehicle, this survey reveals thecrucial vehicle information that automo-tive retailing sites need to include to attractconsumer traffic and prompt action.What is particularly interesting is howconsumers use manufacturer, portal anddealer sites differently depending on wherethey are in their shopping process.”

Mr. Sundaram continued, “Ourprimary goal with this survey was todeliver valuable intelligence that will helpautomotive retailers design websites thatcater to the needs of consumers. Puttingconsumer needs first will result in morepositive experiences and help drive morevehicle leads and sales.”

that originated from the Internet.Secondly, I recently posted almost

all my pre-owned vehicles onCraigslist. I used very low sales prices,and it generated a lot of traffic. Theinitial success was great for the wholestore, but the management teamstarted to be concerned with the loss ofgross that could be caused by pricingall of our pre-owned vehicles at such alow price. The management team nowwants to price most of that inventoryat a very high retail price! I feel peopleshop Craigslist for a deal, and will notcall on a higher price. My owner alsowould like your opinion on that.

I know these two questions arepretty involved, and we know you arebusy, but would greatly appreciate anydirection you could provide.

Jeffery HolsteinInternet sales managerJimmy Michel [email protected], MO

Jeffrey,Aaah yes – the $64,000 question! First

of all, we will never get all the deals we’reentitled to. There are too many factorsinvolved, so expect to split, be thankfulfor the split, and work for the split. Somestores don’t split at all. Find ways to buildvalue in your brand – that’s you. In yourcorrespondence build value in the depart-ment and yourself. In my videos I alwayssign off with “because I brought you allthis digital information it’s importantthat you ask for me, Tim Jennings, “TheInternet Guy.” I have now done some-thing for the viewer, hopefully they willrepay by asking for me by name.

A happy medium needs to be found ifyou’re taking a free shot on Craigslist byrunning units for a few days before it goesto auction. Make sure the used carmanager gets what he thinks he hascoming, so you have an opportunity toearn extra income. Don’t lose a greatopportunity for extra income over a fewdollars; hopefully your used car managerwill see it the same way. There is enoughextra money between Craigslist and theauction for both of you and the used carmanager and store/owner wins too. Askhim, “What’s fair?” You can always add afew dollars to the price and still haveopportunity. If he gets set againstCraigslist you and the store can lose theopportunity.

Tim Jennings

Digital Dealer E-mail, (continued from P-DD4) Digital Dealer News, (continued from P-DD6)

digital dealer magazine december 2009

Documents

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